TOReal a tumor does not mean fighting a battle or war. It is a metaphor that should be overcome, to respect the right of those who are sick to feel fragile, not at all “victorious”. And not guilty, especially in case of incurable disease. We talked about it with the Dr. Antonella Pace, Palliativist doctor at Palliative Care Unit Multimedia of Sesto San Giovanni.
The message of the son of Eleonora Giorgi
As one of the children of Eleonora Giorgi At the mother’s funeral, it is time to overcome the rhetoric of the cancer patient as “warrior”. During the greeting ceremony of the actress, who died at 71 for a pancreas cancer, Giorgi’s eldest son Andrea Rizzoli read a long message in which he wanted to remember the mother and clarify that the language around people with oncological diseases should be updated to return their dignity. “Call for rhetoric … my mother was not a warrior. Guerriero is those who take the field to fight, but those who are sick do not have it, entrust themselves to the medicine and love of the people who are next to the care. And to faith (…). The sick only hope to survive “.
Who has a tumor is not a warrior, that’s why
The term “warrior” is often used to describe cancer sick people, referring to their strength, determination and ability to fight the disease. Although the intention is positive, doctors and psychologists believe that this metaphor can generate negative effects on people with an oncological disease. The “warrior” label is not always appropriate and can have unwanted psychological effects on cancer patients.
The testimony of the palliativist doctor
“There Oncological disease is not a warthere are no sides, There are no those who win or those who lose “explains the Dr. Antonella Pace, Palliativist doctor at Palliative Care Unit Multimedic of Sesto San Giovanni.
«Cancer is a disease with all its possible phases and evolutions. I am a palliativist doctor and I deal with pain therapy and palliative care. I arrive at the patient with my team when The bad symptoms of termination must be quenred. Even for those close to the patient, family members, cohabitants, because the taking charge of the suffering It must be global, emotional, physical, emotional. There are no one who wins, there are not those who lose. According to this vision of the war against cancer, of armies, then as a palliativist doctor I should belong toarmy of losers. Of those who were not good at fighting and therefore did not win. But I’m not a loser, just as my colleagues are not. And above all my patients, “concludes Dr. Pace.
A metaphor that can have negative effects on those suffering
While understanding the positive intent behind the use of the term “warrior”, it is good to consider the psychological and emotional implications that this narrative can have on people with a tumor. The warrior’s metaphor is used with theintention to restore at least a part of that dignity and strength that the disease often affects with its course. We think we demonstrate our closeness, to recognize their physical and existential effort, comparing them to a hero. Use a language that does not reduce the patient to his struggle, but that enhances his entirety, including weakness, depression and pain, can contribute to a more human and respectful experience of care.
The risk of invalidating the emotional experiences of those who have a tumor
An article published in the scientific journal Psycho Oncology (2018) explored how L‘self-perception of the patient can be influenced by social expectations and from labels as “warrior”, suggesting that This language could aggravate the sense of isolation and emotional uselessness in patients.
Define a cancer patient as “warrior” implies anImage of invulnerability and constant strengthwhich does not always correspond to the reality of the disease. Tumor treatment is a difficult path, which involves not only the physical struggle against the disease, but also an intense emotional and psychological load. Compare patients to warriors It may make it seem that there is a force that is expected to keep at any timeand this can lead to a sense of guilt or shame when the patient does not feel able to fight or face the disease with the intensity of a “warrior”. This can inhibit the natural expression of vulnerability and the need to ask for emotional support, fundamental for those with a tumor.
The right to anger, difficulties and ambivalence
According to an article published on Journal of Clinical Oncology (2020), patients who receive a more complex narrative of the disease, which includes difficulties and ambivalent emotions, They tend to feel more understood and improve their psychological adaptation compared to those who have been labeled as “warrior”. The oncological path is not a “battle” or a “war”, but a complex process that can include ups and downs, moments of hope and moments of despair. Not all people react to the same way to the disease, and not everyone can be ready to “fight” with the same force at any time. The term “warrior” can reduce the multiplicity of experiences lived by patients to a single narrative, that of perpetual struggle, That does not take into account moments of uncertainty, fear or disheartened that many can try during treatment.
The dangerous association between “Warrior” and “Vittoria”
The term “warrior” is often accompanied by‘Idea that the disease is a battle which, if won, leads to the “victory”. However, Not all patients with cancer “win” their fight against the diseaseand many could face recurrence or not survive. Using the term “warrior” can therefore contribute to a‘distorted idea of success in oncologywhere the “victory” is defined exclusively by survival. This approach risks neglecting the experiences and positive results that also occur in patients who They do not survive, but which still live significantly until the end of their life.
An article published on Cancer Nursing (2019) highlighted how the association of the concept of “victory” with survival can uncomfortable patients who face death, suggesting that a change in language could help reduce psychological trauma.
The alternative to the language of the “warrior”: an approach based on humanity
As an alternative to the term “warrior”, psycho-oncology suggests the use of a language that recognizes the complexity of human experience during illness. Terms like “Survivor”, “resilient” or “patient” reflect the emotional, psychological and physical challenges more adequately that a cancer patient has to face. A language that respects the shades of the experiencerather than simplifying it to a war to be won, it promotes greater acceptance of vulnerability and the search for psychological support.
All this is supported by a study published in the magazine Psycho-Bone (2020) according to which the use of a empathic and inclusive language contributes positively to the emotional and psychological experience of patientsimproving their quality of life. That then, it is precisely the quality of life, together with the quality of death, which we should take care of.
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