Cross-Cultural Aspects of Cancer Care

Abstract

Life and death, emotion and social support, stress and disease are universal human concerns. The diagnosis of cancer induces a human dread that is grounded in our biological being. Nonetheless, the experience of cancer and its treatment is inevitably influenced by cultural, ethnic, economic, and religious differences. The authors' approach in this chapter is to examine one intensive and well-studied program of psychosocial support for cancer patients, Supportive/Expressive group therapy, and contrast and compare its utilization in two rather different cultures: China and France. The supportive/expressive approach to helping cancer patients has been tested in a number of different cultures: France, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong, China among others. While there are important differences in these cultures in the propensity to openly discuss problems, or even admit to having cancer, this approach has been found to work in reducing distress and pain. The fundamental human need to surround oneself with support, express the strong emotions associated with illness, confront existential concerns, reorder priorities in life, improve family support, clarify communication with physicians, and control symptoms such as pain and anxiety transcends cultural differences. Nonetheless, important cultural differences in how to introduce, conduct, and evaluate the effects of supportive/expressive group therapy require further research. We first present the model as developed in the United States over the past 25 years, and then place it in cultural context by exploring differences in the model in contrasting cultures. This approach is designed to construct a dialectic between the synchronic, or relatively invariant components of intervention, and the diachronic, or relatively culturally specific elements, analogous to the approach of Levi-Strauss. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)