Open AccessNarrative: The fear of disfigurement in cancer patients
Author(s) -
Aruna Deshpande,
Ravindra Ghooi
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
indian journal of palliative care/indian journal of palliative care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.395
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1998-3735
pISSN - 0973-1075
DOI - 10.4103/ijpc.ijpc_33_17
Subject(s) - disfigurement , medicine , distressing , cancer , disease , psychotherapist , surgery , psychology , chemistry
Fear of disfigurement affects patients with cancer, in whom the disease or its treatment leaves them permanently marked. Contrary to our thought, disfigurement is equally distressing to male patients, and it causes severe dislocation in their lives. We describe two cases in which disfigurement caused tremendous change in our patients; these cases underline the need for psychotherapy in patients suffering from cancer.