New Challenges in Communication with Cancer Patients

Antonella Surbone is a medical oncologist working in Italy and the US. Together with Professor Zwitter and Richard Stiefel, she authored and edited the 1997 New York Academy of Sciences volume Communication with the Cancer Patient: Information and truth, which inspired her further work and this present book. Matjaz Zwitter is a radiation oncologist with a long-term interest in lung cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, and medical ethics. In addition, he serves as Professor of Medical Ethics at the Medical School, University of Maribor, Slovenia. Mirjana Rajer is a medical oncology student at the Institute of Oncology, Ljubljana. She is involved in clinical research in lung cancer and conducts research in cancer-patient communication, with special emphasis on the impact of media and the Internet on patient-physician communication. Richard Stiefel first worked with Drs. Surbone and Zwitter during his twenty years as Associate Editor of the Annals of The New York Academy of Sciences. He has had a parallel career as Lecturer in Music Theory at Hunter College of the City University of New York.

Table of Contents

 

Communication: Back to the Human Side of Medicine

Antonella Surbone, Matjaž Zwitter, Mirjana Rajer and Richard Stiefel

 

Part I:  The Cancer llness: Discovering Truth

1.       From Truth Telling to Truth In the Making: A Paradigm Shift in Communication with Cancer Patients 

Antonella Surbone

2.       Denial in Patient-Physician Communication Among Patients with Cancer 

Neil Aggarwal and Michael Rowe

3.       Managing Uncertainty

Lidia Schapira

4.       Ethical Issues in Disclosing Bad News to Cancer Patients: Reflections of an Oncologist in Saudi Arabia

Ali Al-Amri

5.       Psychological Challenges for the Oncology Clinician Who Has to Break Bad News

Friedrich Stiefel and Sonia Krenz

6.       Dealing with Depression: Communicating with Cancer Patients and Grieving Relatives

Luigi Grassi, Rosangela Caruso and Maria Giulia Nanni

7.       Communication Issues in Integrative Oncology

Donald Abrams

8.       Communicating About Spiritual Issues with Cancer Patients

Lorenzo Norris, Kathryn Walseman and Christina M. Puchalski

9.       Understanding Perspective Transformation Among Recently Diagnosed Cancer Patients in Western India 

Avinash Thombre and Allen C. Sherman



Part II:  The Patient and The Family

 

10.   In the Pursuit of Meaning: Cancer and the Family

Lea Baider

11.   The Patient’s Personality as a Guide to Communication Strategy

Purvish Parikh, Kumar Prabhash, GS Bhattacharyya and AA Ranade

12.   Challenges to the Disclosure of Bad News to Cancer Patients in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia as an Example

Ali Aljubran 

13.   Talking to a Child with Cancer: Learning from the Experience

Eulalia Lascar, María Angélica Alizade and Blanca Diez

14.   Effective Communication with Older Cancer Patient

Lodovico Balducci and Martine Extermann

15.   “I Never Died Before…” End-of-Life Communication with Elderly Cancer Patients

Stein S. Husebø and Bettina S. Husebø

16.   Communication with Cancer Patients about Palliative and End-of-Life Care

Guido Biasco, Matteo Moroni and Ludovica De Panfilis

17.   Communication with Patients with Hereditary Cancer:   Practical Considerations Focusing on Women’s Cancers

Karen Carapetyan, Julia Smith and Franco Muggia

 

Part III: The Physician

 

18.   Physician’s Emotions in the Cancer Setting: A Basic Guide to Improving Well-Being and Doctor-Patient Communication

Marie Die Trill

19.   The Setting, The Truth and The Dimensions of Communication with Cancer Patients

Ursula Klocker –Kaiser  and Johann Klocker

20.   Improving Communication Effectiveness in Oncology: The Role of Emotions

Maria Antonietta Annunziata and Barbara Muzzatti

21.   Binary Thinking: Hope and Realistic Expectations in Communication with Cancer Patients

Jerome Lowenstein

22.   A Physician’s Personal Experiences as a Cancer-of-the-Neck Patient: Communication of Medical Errors to Cancer Patients and Their Families

Itzhak Brook

23.   Communication with Cancer Patients in Family Medicine

Mustafa Fevzi Dikici, Fusun Yaris and Fusun Aysin Artiran Igde

24.   How to Train Teachers of Communication Skills: The Oncotalk Teach Model

Walter F. Baile

25.   Communication Skills Training of Physicians in Portugal

Luzia Travado

26.   Communication between Cancer Patients and Oncologists in Japan

Maiko Fujimori, Yuki Shirai and Yosuke Uchitomi



Part IV:  The Cultural and Social Aspects

 

27.   Multicultural Aspects of Care for Cancer Patients in Israel

Miri Cohen

28.   Cancer Diagnosis Disclosure: The French Experience

Sylvie Dolbeault and Anne Brédart

29.   Communication with Patients with Hematological Malignancies in Argentina

Astrid Pavlovsky, Lourdes Bertolino, Victoria Patxot and Carolina Pavlovsky

30.   Teaching Cultural Competent Communication with Diverse Ethnic Patients and Families

Marjorie Kagawa-Singer

31.   Breaking Bad News and Truth Disclosure in Australia

Phyllis N. Butow, Martin HN Tattersall, Josephine Clayton and David Goldstein

32.   Defining the Possible Barriers to Communication with Cancer Patients: A Critical Perspective from Turkey

Tolga Güven

33.   Cancer Disclosure, Health Related Quality of Life, and Psychological Distress: an Iranian Perspective

Ali Montazeri

34.   The Challenges in Communication with Cancer Patients in Contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina Society

Bakir Mehić

35.   Evolution of Truth-Telling Practices of Brazil and South America

Gilberto Schwartsmann and Andre T. Brunetto

36.   Communication with Cancer Patient in Russia: Improving Patients’ Participation and Motivation

Eugeny Demin and Anastasia Gamaley

37.   Communication with Cancer Patients in Zimbabwe

Ntokozo Ndlovu

 

Part V:  The Contribution and Interference of Modern Information Technologies

 

38.   The Dialectics of the Production of Printed Educational Material for Cancer Patients: Developing Communication Prostheses

Paulo Roberto Vasconcellos-Silva

39.   The Benefits and Pitfalls of the Internet in Communication with Cancer Patients

Mirjana Rajer

40.   To Tell or Not To Tell – No More a Question!

Branko Zakotnik

41.   Impact of the Internet and Economy on Cancer Communication in China

Zhi-gang Zhuang and Jia-Ling Chou

42.   Communication with Patients in Clinical Research

Matjaž Zwitter

 

About the Authors