How Culture Influences the Perception of Serious Diseases
How Culture Influences the Perception of Serious Diseases

Summary/Abstract: Currently, cancer does not benefit from an approach that explores cultural influences which are embedded in the modality by which patients define their sufferance, require and use medical services and therapeutic options. In this paper we aim to evaluate the manner in which the cultural background of the cancer patient may influence the perception of a serious disease. For illustration purposes we explored the cultural perception of the digestive cancer from the perspective of the communication and understanding capacity of the medicine student on what this disease represents for the patient. As research instrument we used the dialogue technique in the form of conversation. The analysis of the information yielded a series of common topics and similar significations which influence the health beliefs and the behavior of the cancer patient. The conclusion of our research is that the approach of cancer from the point of view of cultural beliefs and values supports the educational endeavor to emphasize in the training curriculum of future doctors the effective exploration of the potential to correctly acknowledge what cancer presently represents.

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