When the patient doesn't die.
Little has been written about the effects on psychotherapy when a patient who is expected to die survives. A young woman who was nearing the end of routine psychotherapy was found to have breast cancer. There were two recurrences of the malignancy, and while everything pointed toward a rapid death, the patient did not die. Psychotherapy, which had begun before the diagnosis, continued during intensive medical treatment and beyond. Some of the changes affecting both the patient and the therapist are described, and some guidelines are suggested for conducting psychotherapy with cancer patients who have prolonged survival.
Hans
P
P
New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston, MA 02215.
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000523:psychology*; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012803:Sick Role; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology*