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Telling patients to 'fight' cancer puts them under pressure

Published Jan 15, 2019 • Updated Jul 25, 2019 • By Josephine O'Brien

Telling patients to 'fight' cancer puts them under pressure

Cancer patients should not be told to “fight” their disease because doing so puts them under “exhausting pressure”, Macmillan Cancer Support has said.

cancer

The charity warned that framing cancer in terms of a battle leaves patients feeling guilty for admitting fear and often prevents them from planning properly for their death.

Macmillan said thousands of sufferers were unnecessarily dying in hospital rather than their own home each year because of a “gulf in communication” towards the end of life. Experts last night called for a cultural change around cancer so patients no longer feel compelled to put on a brave face.

Research commissioned by the charity reveals nearly two-thirds of sufferers never talk to anyone about their fears of dying due to the pressure to see themselves as a “fighter”. Meanwhile, 28% reported feelings of guilt if they cannot stay positive about their disease.

Adrienne Betteley, an end-of-life care advisor at Macmillan, said: “We know that “battling” against cancer can help some people remain upbeat about their disease, but for others, the effort of keeping up a brave face is exhausting and unhelpful in the long-term."

The report said the pressure to stay positive and support people to “fight” cancer was one of the biggest barriers to holding conversations about dying, even in patients who had already received a terminal diagnosis.

We need to let people define their own experiences without using language that might create a barrier to vital conversations about dying,” said Ms Betteley. For health and social care professionals, there is often a fear that the person is not ready to talk about dying. We know, however, that making plans while receiving treatment allows people with cancer to retain a sense of control during an emotionally turbulent time.”

 

What do you think about this? Do you think it is time to change the language surrounding cancer? Many people on Twitter talked about how you "don't lose a battle against a heart attack" so why do we use this language with cancer?

3

Telegraph.co.uk

avatar Josephine O'Brien

Author: Josephine O'Brien, Community Manager UK

Josephine is the Community Manager of the UK with a Master’s in Publishing. She is a strong believer in the power of words and strives to make Carenity UK a comforting, vibrant and informative community for both... >> Learn more

13 comments


notup!
on 7/28/19

@Raymond I really like that surviving vs fighting. I agree we should own the vocabulary we wish to use and some may feel okay saying they're "fighting" while others may not. I myself always got annoyed when people said that to my wife. 


FQuinlan
on 10/28/19

I'm definitely going to have to agree with this article. When being viewed as a fighter, it makes it hard to battle on the toughest of days. There is definitely a pressure that comes along with that term, so being coined as such makes it feel like you always have to fight and if you don't, you will let your friends and family down. It definitely is exhausting to be called a fighter and refer to cancer as a battle because it makes me feel like I'm a failure if I don't win my battle. 


Tarainonecarr
on 10/11/23

When I was told that I had Glioblastoma. I was devastated. I decided to fight back. I was not going down without a fight. I do know this is not curable. But I can be treated. I have had some set backs but I keep going. Staying stong, staying positive. I was not going to lay down and die.

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