Abstract
People assume that cancer is a deadly disease. The communication gap between doctor and their patients results in incomplete information obtained by people with cancer. This research was conducted using a qualitative approach in order to explore the meaning of cancer for cancer sufferers in Bandung Cancer Society. Theories used as references are phenomenology and symbolic interactionism. The results of the study of 10 informants indicated that cancer is a very frightening disease; cannot be cured and there is no life expectancy; cancer is caused by unhealthy life style; and yet cancer increases acts of worship. All informants as cancer survivors made efforts to survive by following the doctor's advice. Another result of this study states that communication that takes place between cancer survivors and other fellow sufferers in Bandung Cancer Society can change the view of cancer, motivate and raise the spirit of life.
Highlights
The number of people with cancer has increased from year to year
From the results of the research in Bandung Cancer Society based on age category it is obvious that cancer is mostly suffered by people with the age group from 51 years to 60 years
This study has shown the usefulness of the phenomenological perspective and the theory of symbolic interaction in unraveling the symbolic reality of cancer
Summary
The number of people with cancer has increased from year to year. Cancer has even become one of the leading causes of death or number one killer. The most recent data shows that in 2018 there were 18.1 million new cases of cancer with the death rate being 9.6 millions all over the world. It is noted that breast cancer is the type of cancer with the highest percentage of new cases to women which is 42.1 per 100,000, with the average number of deaths being 17 per 100,000 (Ministry of Health, 2019). It is assumed that one of the problems related to the increasing number of cancer cases is a communication gap between people with the disease and the doctors who treat it, as implied by Mulyana (2008) in his inaugural address as a professor who stated that there are many doctors communicating poorly to their patients
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