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Writing cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

Novels and autopathographies that employ cancer as a central theme offer a wealth of opportunities for researching the way patients with cancer make sense of their illness and its treatment. Such literatures can also inform clinical care, because they can support patients in living with their illness. The use of novels and autopathographies for research and care in persons with cancer fits within the framework of ‘Health Humanities’, the interdisciplinary field where medicine and social science meet. This paper presents a concise overview of novels and autopathographies that explore cancer as their theme.

Methods

Literature searches were conducted using PubMed, major scientific journals of medicine and clinical oncology, and databases in the Health Humanities. Searches focused on novels and autopathographies where cancer is the central theme, which are available in English, and which can be considered to represent ‘high literature’.

Results

Twenty-nine books were identified. The majority of the books were written originally in English, and breast cancer and lung cancer were the most frequently discussed types of cancer. The core themes identified were giving meaning to illness; coping with medical treatment; and the psychological and social consequences of illness.

Conclusion

Novels and autopathographies about cancer represent an innovative base for research on living with cancer and offer rich data on how people make sense of cancer and its medical treatment. Clinical implications of this review pertain to interventions based on bibliotherapy and expressive writing. Novels and autopathographies are just part of the Health Humanities context: a wide range of art genres may prove helpful in improving the quality of life of persons with cancer.

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Acknowledgements

I thank Professor Brian Hughes, Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland, for his comments on an earlier version of the paper.

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  1. Section Medical Psychology, Leiden University Medical Center, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Ad A. Kaptein

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Kaptein, A.A. Writing cancer. Support Care Cancer 29, 4375–4380 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05920-0

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