COPING WITH CANCER

Abstract

Cancer is an extremely stressful experience to the patients and their loved ones. Once it strikes, the lives of patients and their families will never be the same again. Cancer is usually associated with excruciating pain, slow but inexorable wearing away of bodily functions, dependency and eventually death. Cancer was and remains one of the top killer diseases in Singapore in the past three decades. Though modern medicine is able to treat cancer today, there is still no promise for cure. With the knowledge of the possible consequences of cancer, how do women with breast cancer - one that may result in the loss of their symbol of femininity cope with the knowledge that they have the disease, with the loss of a body part, with uncertainty about their futures and possibly with ostracism? This study is interested in three aspects of coping.- religious coping, seeking social support and seeking traditional medicine. Religious coping will be discussed in relation to beliefs in responsibility for recovery and as a form of seeking social support, while social networks will be analyzed according to the functions they perform for patients. Intentions to engage in dual utilization of medical systems will also be considered as coping, as a form as well as a result of seeking informational support, especially if patients had not previously believed in using traditional medicine. In a strict sense, this study concerns only 14 women, but it illustrates the various possibilities that could exist when patients cope with cancer. Questions are raised by looking at the experiences of the 14 women : is religious coping restricted to those with religious affiliations only? Would patients with no prior experience with traditional medicine decide to entrust their lives to it? Can a patient cope without support from family and friends and what do cancer patients expect from institutions? This study does not speak for all women with breast cancer, rather it only gives a voice to 14 women. Using the experiences of these women, I wish to present the various possibilities in coping. At present, there has regrettably been no major sociological undertaking in Singapore to understand how cancer patients cope. Thus, this case study aspires to lay the foundations for future studies in an important but seldom understood area.