A-Z of Blogging: L is for Language #AtoZChallenge
26 posts. 26 days. 26 letters of the alphabet, one blog post beginning with each letter.
L is for Language
I’m right in the middle of writing an article for the Patient Empowerment Foundation on the language of cancer – specifically focused on cancer as a battleground.
It seems whenever we hear a story about someone with a serious illness, war metaphors frequently accompany the telling. This is particularly true of the language surrounding cancer in which battles must invariably be valiantly fought, won, or lost.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read about patients who are in remission from cancer, having “won their fight” against the disease. Does this imply that patients in remission have somehow done more than those who aren’t in remission? Or that cancer progression or death from cancer is somehow an indication of failure – of not having had the ability to fight and defeat the enemy?
In The Personal is Rhetorical: War, Protest, and Peace in Breast Cancer Narratives, Dr. Kristen Garrison writes that the language of war which dominates breast cancer determines how the patient and others understand the illness.
Women are enlisted in a battle against the self, their bodies made war zones, with cancer as the enemy, medical professionals as infallible heroes, and treatments of search-and-destroy by any means possible.
This is not to say that I don’t recognize that for some people embracing a fighting spirit is a way that helps them feel more in control. I’m not criticizing individuals who draw strength from calling themselves fighters. Everyone is entitled to use whatever language they want to describe their own experiences. However, in the words of Dr Garrison “while this metaphor may serve to motivate some women, we should not accept it uncritically as the only and right way to make sense of this disease; furthermore, we should recognize how the war metaphor delimits the ways women can talk about breast cancer, potentially silencing women for whom a combat mode is inappropriate or ineffective.”
Over to you
How do you feel about metaphors like “fighting” and “battling” cancer? Do these metaphors resonate with you? Or do you dislike them?
Here’s a selection of tweets in answer to this question. Please feel free to add your own thoughts to this topic in the comments below.
But then along came Beth and Dr Jo
I also don’t embrace the battle language and I think that this metaphor also emphasizes the difference between doctors and patients. If we take this metaphor to its logical conclusion, then the doctors are the generals and the patients are the foot soldiers, bound to follow their command. This is another way our choice, our autonomy is taken away. I, for one, reject this notion. Thank you for sharing!!
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Such a great point Abigail about how this language perpetuates a “them or us” scenario.
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This is such a minefield, Marie! I agree that some people use fighting talk because, perhaps, it helps them to feel more in control of the situation. I’ve come across many people in business who also use fighting talk, so it might be a general preference for using language that makes them feel like they’re doing something pro-active when caught in a difficult / impossible situation. Personally, I don’t see cancer as a fight – and I wouldn’t want anyone to use fighting language when talking to me about cancer. At the same time, I recognise that the whole “f*ck cancer” approach works for some cancer patients, and I have no problem with cancer patients / survivors using fighting talk. However, I do object to the media using it, especially in the situation where someone is said to have “lost their battle with cancer.” It’s simply a hackneyed way of grabbing attention.
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I agree 100% with you Julia. As patients with cancer, we should all feel free to use whichever language works best for us as individuals trying to get through things as best we can. But when it comes to the media, it’s lazy journalism to fall back on tired old cliches.
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Hi Marie. This is such a tricky one that I’ve commented on before and is such a personal choice. For me I was never battling cancer: it’s a disease but I was definitely battling how I managed diagnosis and particularly getting through the side effects of treatments. It helped me to look at each stage and at times each day and even hour, at worst points, with a view of getting through, surviving and celebrating with just a simple acknowledgement. It truly helped me feeling that achievement and it helped with knowing that I was going to have to face it again. My belief is that the right language is what is right for the individual person and I would hate to think that people who do find this language helps, feel that they can’t openly use for fear of what others may think. Whatever language gets you through is the right language for me. I am very mindful of when speaking to people now to be sensitive to the language they are happy with and these discussions of differing views have helped me with this.
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Sara thank you so much for such a wonderful comment – particularly the points about choosing the language that is right for you.
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