The oncologist-patient relationship is an essential aspect within the therapeutic path, but also a very complex one, because “not all patients are the same. The doctor must be good at quickly understanding what the patient’s expectations are in terms of language and in terms of depth of communication. There are patients who want a deep relationship. Sometimes, unfortunately, the response, even unconsciously, is closure. So the doctor must be good at understanding how far he can go”. So Icro Meattini, radiation oncologist at the Careggi university hospital in Florence, in the first episode of the Vodcast ‘It’s time to live’, dedicated to women experiencing advanced breast cancer. The initiative, promoted by Novartis with Salute Donna Onlus and produced by OnePodcast, is made up of 4 appointments and intends to give a voice to women who are not just patients, but people with a full life, which goes far beyond the disease, as we read in the article published in Alleati per la Salute (www.alleatiperlasalute.it), the medical-scientific information portal created with the support of pharmaceuticals.
“I hid, I disappeared from everyone, I didn’t tell anyone. I denied my suffering. I had so much anger inside and I didn’t understand why others didn’t realize it”. This is how Stella, the protagonist of the first episode of the vodcast, talks about herself, starting from the moment of the diagnosis of breast cancer and from the great difficulties she has encountered in accepting the disease. “I perceived it as a threat to my life, so strong that it sent me into a state of confusion”, says the woman who, on the one hand, denies herself and others that she is sick and needs help, on the other, she gets angry because this help is not offered to her, at work or on the subway. Everything is difficult. The same wig, worn even in the middle of summer, becomes a way to hide illness and suffering and appear as the usual person. In this period it is the relationships with her friends, which after the diagnosis become less frequent, that fuel a sense of loneliness and misunderstanding.
The turning point – reads the article – takes place thanks to the intervention of a psycho-oncologist who, as Stella recalls, clearly poses the question: “If you don’t say you’re suffering, if you don’t say you’re sick, the others don’t hear you” . From the decision to perceive herself as a “suffering person”, she changes her life. By participating in various projects of the Cancer Institute and other associations, Stella realizes that from the comparison “you are able to delimit what your experience may be”. The relationship with the other patients therefore becomes fundamental, it is used to exchange points of view, advice and also to be ironic. Relations with healthcare personnel and, specifically, with the oncologist are also changing. However, this does not always happen, but Stella’s invitation, for each patient, is to trust your doctor and scrupulously follow the treatments, considering that research does not stop, there are effective and targeted therapies, to save life . The full article is available at: https://www.alleatiperlasalute.it/la-voce-del-paziente/e-tempo-di-vita-tumore-al-seno-avanzato-e- Immagina-delle-relazioni.
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