Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Aug;29(8):4375-4380.
doi: 10.1007/s00520-020-05920-0. Epub 2021 Jan 8.

Writing cancer

Ad A Kaptein  1
Affiliations
Review

Writing cancer

Ad A Kaptein. Support Care Cancer. 2021 Aug.

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.

Keywords: Art; Bibliotherapy; Expressive writing; Health humanities; Novels; Patient-reported outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Cuthbert CA, Farragher JF, Hemmelgarn BR, Ding Q, McKinnon GP, Cheung WY (2019) Self-management interventions for cancer survivors: a systematic review and evaluation of intervention content and theories. Psycho-oncol 28:2119–2140
    1. Henson LA, Maddocks M, Evans C, Davidson M, Hicks S, Higginson IJ (2020) Palliative care and the management of common distressing symptoms in advanced cancer: pain, breathlessness, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue. J Clin Oncol 38:905–914 - PubMed - PMC
    1. Khorana AA, Shayne M, Korones DN (2011) Can literature enhance oncology training? A pilot Humanities curriculum. J Clin Oncol 29:468–471 - PubMed
    1. Crawford P, Brown B, Baker C, Tischler V, Adams B (2015) Health Humanities. Palgrave Macmillan, London
    1. Jones T, Blackie M, Garden R, Wear D (2017) The almost right word: the move from Medical to Health Humanities. Acad Med 92:932–935 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources