Kirchhoff H W
Rehabilitation (Stuttg). 1984 Aug;23(3):91-6.
Talking with cancer patients is a process situated in a special field of tension. The individual affected by cancer suffers in multiple ways: from his somatic disease, his emotional reactions to the condition, from an ever-present fear of disease recurrence or spread. The patient is afraid of a lack of acceptance on the part of his environment, of social isolation and communication deficits, of insufficiencies in his ability to cope with the condition. This is where "Mitseinsbehandlung" sets in, an empathic, holistic approach to treatment bearing on all the various planes at which help is required. This approach is described in more detail.