Thoughts on the use of the word "battle" within popular Oncology culture

[RN'd]

Hello everyone,

I found myself musing on this in response to a peer's use of the term "battle" relating to cancer:

"With regard to how you say "the battle is ending for most cancer patients" who are in hospice care. I have worked with many patient's with cancer who have transitioned to palliative/hospice care. Speaking from this experience, it is my feeling that the term "battle" that is so popularly used in the mainstream health culture to describe the individual or the subject's relationship to the disease and diagnosis of cancer is inaccurate. It imparts a meaning that casts a a false absolute dichotomy of win/lose with all the culturally associated positive/negative valuations. "To battle" also implies a conflict where violent action is legitamized and accepted as a solution. I disagree here. I don't think that the persons experience with cancer with regard to what it is to live a meaningful life has to be chalked up to a "loss" at the end of a life that has experienced cancer. I don't believe this does justice to, or captures the experience of living with cancer or the spectrum of life and death."

What do you think about this? Please share your thoughts.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Agreed. Oncology heavily utilizes warlike imagery in everything from advertising to how patients describe their experiences.

It's an interesting phenomenon. You don't hear people talking about their "battle" with COPD, but I guarantee you'll see the term used to describe one's treatment course for breast cancer.

[OCNRN63, RN]

I dislike the word "journey" when describing a cancer patient's experience dealing with his/her illness. To me, it feels like it minimizes all the crap you go through as a cancer patient.

That's just me. Others may not find it offensive. I bristle when hearing my experience with cancer being referred to as a "journey."

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Personally, watching my husband deal with his cancer, I think the war metaphors are pretty much spot-on. He takes chemo pills every day to "kill" off cancer cells, and he "fights" to keep a positive attitude even though he feels lousy sometimes and we both know that this disease will eventually "win". If that's not a battle, I don't know what is.

[Emergent, RN]

My husband lost to cancer. He lost to a blitzkrieg and was overwhelmed too quickly.

I, too, think of the fight with cancer in warlike terms.

[sharpeimom]

I think the word battle fits well. Journey offends me. Both my mother and my mother-in-law fought hard but lost all too quickly. Their breast cancer won. I helped with the care of both women and it was not a journey for either woman! Both women had had cancer in the other breast years earlier, but when it came back, it came back with a vengeance. The goal was switched from finding a cure to dying in the least painful and agonizing way possible.

[nursel56]

I'm so sorry to hear that, Emergent. I think that for me the terms relating to war are apt because most people believe that cancer is an invader that wants to kill them. I know some alternative views recommend people visualize cancer as an errant child or other metaphors.

When I hear that someone has lost the battle I don't focus on the "lost" I focus on the long, wearying, painful battle the person waged to outwit the beast for as long as they could. When I know that many times people fight the beast far longer than they may want to simply because their loved ones want and/or need to keep them around longer the "battle" no matter how it ends is heroic to me. In that there is no judgement on people who choose not to treat, and overall it blows my mind that people have the audacity to judge any individual's choices when they aren't living the other person's life. It's cruel to do that.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Agreed. Oncology heavily utilizes warlike imagery in everything from advertising to how patients describe their experiences.

It's an interesting phenomenon. You don't hear people talking about their "battle" with COPD, but I guarantee you'll see the term used to describe one's treatment course for breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a "battle" that can be won. Some people seem to achieve a cure. They go back to their daily lives, things go "back to normal." COPD doesn't seem to be "winnable". There is no going back to the way things were before they had COPD. It's a constant struggle, not a winnable battle.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I dislike the word "journey" when describing a cancer patient's experience dealing with his/her illness. To me, it feels like it minimizes all the crap you go through as a cancer patient.

That's just me. Others may not find it offensive. I bristle when hearing my experience with cancer being referred to as a "journey."

My sister refers to my breast cancer "journey", Mom's Alzheimer's "journey" and Dad's "journey" where he got worn out caring for Mom and made up his mind to die . . . and DID. I think everything is a "journey" to her. I find the word offensive as well.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Breast cancer is a "battle" that can be won. Some people seem to achieve a cure. They go back to their daily lives, things go "back to normal." COPD doesn't seem to be "winnable". There is no going back to the way things were before they had COPD. It's a constant struggle, not a winnable battle.

Perhaps COPD wasn't the best example as the term "battle" is used widely in the oncology realm, even with disease processes that are not curable. I don't think curability has anything to do with it. Even so, you don't hear the term "battle" used to describe one's struggle with other curable conditions. My "battle" with the flu. My "battle" with rhabdomyolysis. It's just not something you tend to hear outside the world of hem/onc.