A "menu metaphor" has been created to help doctors explain cancer to their patients.
The “menu”, which includes themes of fairground rides, music and difficult journeys and is targeted at patients, family carers and doctors, has been drawn up following research by Lancaster University.
Researchers want to move discussion away from metaphors about battles and fighting the disease.
The ESRC-funded Lancaster study on cancer-related language analysed more than one million words and asked the views of more than 100 people with advanced cancer, family carers and healthcare staff, including oncologists. Researchers also analysed online forum posts by all three groups.
While there should not be a ban on any metaphors used to describe the disease, portraying cancer as a battle can be disempowering for terminally-ill patients and make them feel worse, the study concludes.
Lead author Professor Elena Semino, of Lancaster University’s department of Linguistics and English Language, said: "Our study shows that metaphors are helpful when talking about cancer.
“But different ones suit different people, or the same person at different times. Describing someone as a ‘fighter’ can be upsetting for some patients but empowering for others. Our menu will stimulate new creative ways of talking about cancer."
Prostate cancer patients rated the menu, which was developed with the help of Preston Royal Infirmary, St John’s Hospice in Lancaster and charity CancerCare, 3.2 on a five-point scale of usefulness, with the fairground ride metaphor found to be particularly helpful.
The researchers found that violence-related expressions, such as “battle” and “weapon”, were the most frequently used, while phrases around “journey” were the second most frequently used.
They also found substantial evidence of the disempowering effect of violence metaphors although some people used them to convey a positive sense of themselves.
The findings will be shared as part of the Cancer Metaphor Café, which is being held as part of the ESRC’s flagship annual Festival of Social Science in London on 7 and 8 November.
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