The Book of Job: a 2,500-year-old current guide to the practice of oncology: the nexus of medicine and spirituality.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the role of ancient literature and religious tradition to the modern practice of oncology; foster awareness of practicing in a historical context resulting from different traditions; and propose a spiritual context for the practice of oncology and explore methods to highlight this perspective in cancer education.


METHODS
Contextual and content analysis of a religious text shared by the most common religious traditions of the West (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam).


RESULTS
The origin of suffering eludes all logical explanations. All religious traditions affirm that the sufferer should be heard, cared for, and kept part of the human consortium, and under no circumstances blamed for the disease. In terms of oncology practice this means that the treatment should be negotiated with the patient according to his or her need; that physicians' obligations for care continues after the treatment fails, and that patients' lifestyles or poor compliance should not be blamed for poor outcomes.


CONCLUSIONS
The Book of Job supports a spiritual perspective in oncology practice, indicating that patient care is a holistic endeavor. This perspective is the key to dealing with common interactive problems, such as adversarial relations between patient and provider in face of death and suffering, and more important, may promote care beyond treatment of the disease.
Patterson
Stephen
S
University of South Florida College of Medicine and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, USA.
Balducci
Lodovico
L
Meyer
Russell
R
D001633:Bible; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000379:methods*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012068:Religion and Medicine