What Can We Learn from Cancer Survivors?
Dr. Avinash Thombre began his global research on transformational experiences while he was completing a doctoral degree in speech communication at the University of New Mexico.
The native of Pune, India, worked initially in New Mexico with HIV and AIDS patients, later including cancer patients in his study to examine the coping strategies used by individuals when they have been diagnosed with a chronic disease. Thombre noticed a series of stages that patients go through, but he noticed one in particular that not many individuals were able to progress through.
“We observed that some patients used unique strategies and underwent transformative experiences. These survivors engaged in significant amounts of self-reflection and self-communication which leads to taking an active role in their diagnosis and fighting the disease. We also saw a remarkable ability in these survivors to use various narrative communicative strategies to share their stories with others,” Thombre said. “What is even more interesting is that the patient’s native culture plays an important role in how they make sense of what’s going on in their bodies, and their cultural notions become significant in impacting health outcomes. These cultural strategies need in-depth examination as they can make a difference between survivorship and failure to cope up with cancer.”
Thombre is presently in the process of expanding this line of his research and collecting data at the Ruby Hall Cancer Clinic in Pune, India this summer. A partnership with this cancer clinic allows him to pilot an extensive questionnaire with stage 1 and stage 2 cancer patients asking about their unique cultural acceptance and progression in dealing with their cancer diagnoses. In addition to surveying patients, Thombre talks to families and caregivers to find out their view of the transformation process.
The research, he added, could have greater applications than helping cancer victims accept their diagnoses. As the number of individuals diagnosed with chronic diseases increase this line of research hopes to increase the survivorship rates and as the survivors live longer, this understanding will help improve their quality of life. Patients with chronic diseases like diabetes–or those suffering from other post-traumatic stress disorders–could learn how to become “survivors” as well.
For more information about health communication and links to Dr. Thombre’s research visit:
http://ualr.edu/axthombre/communication.htm