When we create a “battle” narrative around cancer, we rob people who are facing the disease of a chance to shape their own narratives, says Sali Hughes
Sali Hughes
on
Last month, the press spoke of patient advocate, campaigner and former cabinet minister Tessa Jowell’s tragic death after a year of “battling brain cancer”. At the same time, Heathers actor Shannen Doherty’s own “cancer battle” was detailed in People magazine. In this country, broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire, who has done vital and impressive work in encouraging self examination and vigilance around breast cancer, was lauded for her own “brave battle” against the disease. Over on news site CNN, one can now scroll through an entire gallery of celebrity cancer battlers, each as brave, strong, defiant and feisty (insert own combative adjective here) as the last.
Except that despite how we choose to describe and portray them, cancer patients are not embroiled in some mental tug of war, where sheer strength of mind determines the speediness of their recovery or contributes in any meaningful way to the outcome of their treatment. Because they are ill. Positivity alone no more shrinks a tumour than snake oil, crystals and avo smash. What will make cancer even tougher, though, is the societal expectation of relentless optimism and a gung-ho, can-do mentality, even when it is at odds with someone’s true personality and flies in the face of medical fact.
No comments:
Post a Comment