Compassionate Care in Cancer Management - Essay Example

Compassionate Care in Cancer Management Compassionate care is an approach to treatment that aims to address the various issues affecting the lives of terminally ill individuals by improving their quality of life. Medical physicians and other healthcare personnel work to reduce any pain and discomfort and to make any other specific symptoms affecting these patients more manageable. This care is provided within an environment that the patients feels the most comfortable though they may be taken to hospital in the event any serious medical crisis occurs requiring specialized treatment.

An important aspect of compassionate care is the provision of spiritual and psychological support to the terminally ill patients. These people have terminal diseases that are incurable and therefore have a limited time to live. As such, they suffer many psychological problems such as the feelings of grief, anger, anxiety, and sorrow because of the various diseases they have and the changes that have occurred in their lives because of those illnesses. In addition, they might feel a sense of guilt due to the feeling they are placing a large burden on their families, especially financial burden as the treatment of these diseases is very costly.

Providing psychological and spiritual support to these patients is very important as it helps to address the various questions and concerns that they might have and to offer comfort as their lives draw closer to an end. It also helps those left behind to cope with the loss of the loved ones who have passed on. Erving Goffman established an important perspective to understand further the symbolic interaction perspective through the dramaturgical approach (Ditton, 78). This approach entails studying social interaction through theatrical performance where people are considered as performers in the theatre of life as they constantly portray a certain impression to other people in the society.

Within this analysis, Goffman argues that people change their behaviors in order to offer other people certain impressions they would like them to know and therefore undertake impression management as they prioritize showing a good impression in the presence of others (Trevino, 34). Cancer is one of the leading terminal diseases causing accounting for numerous deaths worldwide, accounting for about 13% of all deaths annually (Yarbro, Wujcik, and Gobel, 178). The management of cancer is an important process that entails many aspects in order to ensure patients suffering from this terminal disease are comfortable in their last days.

Compassionate care is one of these aspects and helps to ensure these patients are offered the best treatment and care within a setting they are comfortable and able to cope with the various problems facing them. In providing such care, healthcare givers and other staff involved in the treatment of cancer have to give various impressions that indicate concern and compassion for these patients with cancer in order to provide the required medical care effectively. These patients have to see that these professional know the various problems they are experiencing and are not judgmental of any aspect of their lives.

They should show these patients that they understand how they feel as well as are there to enable them to cope with the disease and any other complications that they might get during the illness. Works cited Ditton, Jason. The View of Goffman, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1980. Print. Trevino, Javier. Goffmans Legacy. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003. Print. Yarbro Connie, Wujcik Debra, and Gobel Holmes. Cancer nursing: principles and practice (7th Ed). New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2011. Print.