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Chemotherapy kills cancer, but who heals the soul?
Along with physical treatment, we need to make mental healthcare a priority, too.
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Mental health support must begin with diagnosis, not after, say the writers.
PHOTO: PEXELS
Akhil Chopra, Teng Jia Ying and Rubeena Chopra
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At 42, Mr X – a devoted husband and father of two young children – didn’t smoke, barely drank, exercised regularly and had no family history of cancer. When he developed a niggling lower back pain that would not go away, he finally agreed to see a doctor. After scans, blood tests and a biopsy, came the shocking diagnosis: stage 4 cancer. Rare, aggressive, and widespread.
As I (Akhil Chopra) prepared to meet him and his wife for the first time in my clinic, even as a doctor with years of experience, I felt this quiet dread. How could I explain that someone like him had an advanced terminal illness? The cancer had already eaten into his bones and invaded his vital organs.
