After learning that a loved one has cancer, family members often unconsciously keep the news from the patient in order to reduce the patient’s mental stimulation, fearing to reveal traces of the disease, thus making one thing in front of the patient and another behind the scenes.
Cancer is undoubtedly not a news that can be accepted openly at once, so it is difficult for family members to decide whether to tell the patient about his or her illness.
Patients often start to suspect in the atmosphere of uncertainty, and the “news” they get from this kind of secret will form a more sad and negative psychological barrier in the patient’s mind. Wu Yu, Department of Oncology, Xiyuan Hospital, Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine
I once had a patient with colorectal cancer who was in a very bad mood and hardly talked to anyone, whether it was his doctor or his family, and did not ask his doctor about his condition and treatment. I was very worried about his mood and suggested to his family that they could no longer hide his condition from him, otherwise it would seriously affect his treatment. The following is a conversation I had with him.
I asked him to come to my office alone and sit across from me.
Doctor: Do you know what kind of disease you have?
Patient: Didn’t you tell me it was enteritis?
(He had an expression of disinterest in nothing.)
Doctor Me: I’m telling you the truth now, it’s colorectal cancer.
(There is a moment of silence, and his voice is softer.)
Patient: I know.
(I am also silent for a moment to give him a time to think.)
Doctor: It is colorectal cancer, but it is not untreatable.
I then explained to him in detail his condition, as well as the treatment we would be taking and the expected outcome, and told him again and again that we needed his cooperation.
He walked out of my office with no more light in his eyes than when he came in. He said something that I still remember today.
”Doctor, thank you, I know how I should go about this.”
Yes, before this he was trekking through the desert like he was blindfolded, now at least he knew which direction to go, although the path was still difficult.
I’ve never been a proponent of hiding illnesses from patients, especially loved ones. The first thing a person in adversity needs is to understand each other, to share, and to discuss frankly what they are facing, which will more easily revive the spirit.
Whenever I see some family members, in order to avoid adding to the patient’s psychological burden, blindfold the patient and leave him alone to walk his last path in the dark desert under the reason of love, I am really helpless and heartbroken. At that time, I often said the following phrase
u If you are sick yourself, do you want others to hide it from you?
The good thing is that now there is a legal support.
Many physicians are gradually adopting the practice of giving a direct account of their condition to their patients. The World Health Organization’s expert committee also pointed out that any practice of hiding the truth about cancer is harmful and unhelpful. Surveys have been conducted on cancer patients and the vast majority of patients are willing to know the truth about their condition and how it has changed over the course of the disease. Doing so is conducive to close cooperation with physicians and to arranging and dealing with various things at work, in life and at home.
It is increasingly accepted by oncologists and patients that patients should be informed of the general knowledge of the disease, including the causes, symptoms and prognosis, and that scientific explanations should be made in a targeted manner to eliminate doubts and make them feel at ease to receive treatment. It is undoubtedly beneficial to patients and their treatment.