Growing evidence suggests using battlefield language to galvanize terminally ill patients to meet their treatments with enthusiasm may be doing more harm than good, according to Seema Marwaha, MD, clinician investigator at Trillium Health Partners Institute for Better Health in Ontario.
In a recent article for VICE, Dr. Marwaha states phrases like "we can beat this" or "you are a fighter" are ubiquitous in cancer care, but questions how beneficial this language is.
Research from the University of Lancaster in the United Kingdom has previously shown the use of militaristic metaphors in the care process can lead to feelings of failure and guilt among terminally ill patients.
Linguistics professor and lead researcher of the Lancaster study, Elena Semino, PhD, told Dr. Marwaha, "When the metaphor is used in situations where the disease is incurable, that makes the person who is dying a loser and responsible for not getting better."
In Dr. Semino's latest study, scheduled for publication next year, evidence shows North Americans use higher levels of aggressive language when describing end-of-life care than other regions. This finding suggests North Americans view death as failure, something most people are not comfortable discussing.
James Downar, MD, palliative and intensive care specialist at Toronto's University Health Network, told Dr. Marwaha that while the language of warfare can be empowering to some patients, sometimes such nomenclature can influence patients into taking futile, potentially harmful treatments so they are not viewed as "quitters."
"If you are going to call it a battle or fight, you have to understand you are calling a large proportion of patients losers," said Dr. Downar.
To read Dr. Marwaha's complete article in VICE, click here.
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