Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Hearing Bad News

  • Published:
Journal of Medical Humanities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Personal reports of receiving bad news provide data that describes patients’ comprehension, reflections, experienced emotions, and an interpretative commentary with the wisdom of hindsight. Analysis of autobiographical accounts of “hearing bad news” enables the identification of patterns of how patients found out diagnoses, buffering techniques used, and styles of receiving the news. I describe how patients grapple with the news, their somatic responses to hearing, and how they struggle and strive to accept what they are hearing. I discuss metaphors used within the languages of hearing bad news. Finally, I discuss implications for a change of focus in the breaking bad news research agenda, that is, from the physician’s “performance” to a patient-focused agenda.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Biographical and autobiographical accounts present a different level of “truth” than fictive accounts, such as Wit (Margaret Edson, 1995, New York, Farber) or TV’s ER and Chicago Hope.

  2. C. Reeve, Still Me (New York: Ballantine, 1998).

  3. M.W. Lear, Heartsounds (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1980).

  4. R.F. Murphy, The Body Silent (New York: W.W. Norton, 1987/1990).

  5. L. Genova, Still Alice (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007).

  6. D.F. McGowin, Living in the Labyrinth: A Personal Journey Through the Maze of Alzheimer’s (NY, New York: Delacorte 1993), 3-22.

  7. B. Rollin, First, You Cry (Bergenfield, New Jersey: Signet Books, 1976).

  8. P. van Tighem, The Bear’s Embrace:A True Story of Surviving a Grizzly Bear Attack (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Greystone Books, 2000). 176-177.

  9. R. Stinson and P. Stinson, The Long Dying of Baby Andrew (Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Little, Brown and Company, 1979/1983).

  10. R.M. Cohen, Blindsided: Lifting Above Illness (New York: Harper Collins, 2004).

  11. S. Cook, Second Life (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981).

  12. Rollin, 34-36.

  13. J.M. Morse and S.E. Chung, “Towards Holism: The Significance of Methodological Pluralism,” Korean Journal of Nursing Query 12 (2003): 38-48. Reprinted in International Journal for Qualitative Methods 2 (2003): Article 2, http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/2_3final/html/morsechung.html

  14. Lear, 334.

  15. M. Johnson, The Body in the Mind: The Bodily Basis of Meaning, Imagination, and Reason (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987), xxxvi-xxxviii.

  16. W. Styron, Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness (New York: Random House, 1990), 15.

  17. S. Baier and M.Z. Shomaker, Bed Number Ten (Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, 1985/1986), 13.

  18. S. Brown and S. Carchidi, Miracle in the Making: The Adam Taliaferro Story (Chicago: Triumph Books, 2001), 13-14.

  19. Rollin, 60-161.

  20. W.H. Jones and M. Buttery, “Sudden Death: Survivors’ Perceptions of Their Emergency Department Experience,” Journal of Emergency Nursing 7 (1981): 14-7.

  21. B. Glaser and A. Strauss, Awareness of Dying (Chicago: Aldine, 1965).

  22. D.W. Maynard, “On ‘Realization’ in Everyday Life: The Forecasting of Bad News as a Social Relation,” American Sociological Review 61 (1996): 109-31.

  23. Brown and Carchidi, 11.

  24. M.A. Chassé, “The Experiences of Women Having a Hysterectomy,” in The Illness Experience: Dimensions of Suffering, ed. J.M. Morse and J.L. Johnson (Newbury Park, California: Sage, 1991), 89-139.

  25. J.F. Callahan, Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1998), 55-56.

  26. Cohen, 17-18.

  27. S. LeBlanc, “Sophie LeBlanc,” in An Unexpected Journey: Women's Voices of Hope After Breast Cancer. Ed. by A. Galambos (USA: Gynergy Books, 1998), 80-100.

  28. van Tighem, 176-177.

  29. N. Huggett, “Life With Jessie,” in The Morningside Years. Ed. by P. Gzowski (Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McClelland and Stewart, 1997), 178-181.

  30. Ibid, 181.

  31. Van Tighem, 180.

  32. Murphy, 24.

  33. Stinson, 26.

  34. Lear, 272.

  35. M. Woodman. Bone: Dying Into Life (Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Penguin Books, 2000), 4.

  36. L. Dackman, Up Front: Sex and the Post-Mastectomy Woman (New York: Viking,1990), 13.

  37. Brown and Carchidi, 7.

  38. Cook, 96-97.

  39. Maynard, 118.

  40. B. Creaturo, Courage: The Testimony of a Cancer Patient (New York: Pantheon Books. 1991), 7.

  41. Reeve, 20.

  42. Cook, 185.

  43. J-D. Bauby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (New York: Knopf. 1997), 8-9.

  44. Ibid, 11-12.

  45. Woodmam, 1-2

  46. Rollin, 36.

  47. E. Potter, “Elizabeth Potter,” in An Unexpected Journey: Women's Voices of Hope After Breast Cancer. Ed. by A. Galambos (USA: Gynergy Books, 1998), 13-17.

  48. Van Tighen, 35.

  49. Cook, 186.

  50. McGowin, 17.

  51. Lear, 270.

  52. Baier and Schomaker, 14.

  53. Cook, 183.

  54. McGowin, 16.

  55. M. Dobic, My Beautiful Life (Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press, 2000), 61.

  56. B. Peabody, The Screaming Room: A Mother’s Journal of Her Son’s Struggle With AIDS—A True Story of Love, Dedication, and Courage (New York: Avon, 1986), 1.

  57. Rollin, 34.

  58. Baier and Schomaker, 15.

  59. Ibid, 15.

  60. van Tighem, 41.

  61. Ibid, 41.

  62. McGowin, 16.

  63. Baier and Schomaker, 15.

  64. van Tighem, 35.

  65. Ibid, 41.

  66. McGowin, 17.

  67. Baier and Schomaker, 15.

  68. Levine, 3.

  69. Ibid, 3.

  70. K. Conway, Ordinary Life: A Memoir of Illness (New York: W.H. Freeman, 1996), 32-35.

  71. Dackman, 14.

  72. Potter, 29.

  73. C. VanBuskirk, “Carolyn VanBuskirk,” in An Unexpected Journey: Women's Voices of Hope After Breast Cancer. Ed. by A. Galambos (Charlottetown, PEI: Gynergy Books, 1998), 45-51.

  74. Reeve, 20.

  75. G. Radner, It’s Always Something (New York: Avon, 1989), 72-73.

  76. Radner, 73,

  77. Murphy, 24.

  78. B.S. Klein, Slow Dance: A Story of Stroke, Love and Disability (Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Vintage, 1997). 92-93.

  79. Van Tighem, 76-78.

  80. Murphy, 24.

  81. Baier and Shomaker, 15.

  82. Woodman, 5.

  83. Reeve, 20.

  84. Giroux, 31.

  85. Dobic, 59.

  86. VanBuskirk, 50.

  87. Klein, 120.

  88. van Tighem, 31.

  89. Callahan, 55-56.

  90. Conway, 33.

  91. Dobic, 61.

  92. Klein, 125.

  93. Baier and Shomaker, 13.

  94. M. Korda, Man to Man: Surviving Prostate Cancer (New York: Random House, 1996), 6.

  95. Korda, 7.

  96. Korda, 7.

  97. van Tighem, 36.

  98. A. Broyard, Intoxicated by My Illness (New York: Clarkson Potter, 1992), 4.

  99. Potter, 16.

  100. Baier and Shomaker, 15.

  101. Cook, 183.

  102. Dackman, 14.

  103. Klein, 120.

  104. Bauby, 7-8.

  105. Cohen, 10-13.

  106. J.M. Morse et al., “Patterns of Suffering: Emotional Responses While Waiting for Breast Biopsy Results” (in review).

References

  • Abeygunawadena, H.D. “Hema Dias Abeygunawadena.” In An Unexpected Journey: Women’s Voices of Hope After Breast Cancer, ed. by A. Galambos, 104–107. Charlottetown, PEI: Gynergy Books, 1998.

  • Allende, I. Paula. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baier, S. and Shomaker, M.Z. Bed Number Ten. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, 1985/1986.

  • Bauby, J.-D. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. New York: Knopf, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. and Carchidi, S. Miracle in the Making: The Adam Taliaferro Story. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broyard, A. Intoxicated by My Illness. New York: Clarkson Potter, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callahan, J. Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot. New York: William Morrow, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chassé, M.A. “The Experiences of Women Having a Hysterectomy.” In The Illness Experience: Dimensions of Suffering, ed. J.M. Morse and J.L. Johnson, 89–139. Newbury Park, California: Sage, 1991.

  • Clarke, J.N. and Clark, L.N. Finding Strength. Don Mills, Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 4–9, 16–31.

  • Cohen, R. M. Blindsided: Lifting Above Illness. New York: Harper Collins, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conway, K. Ordinary Life: A Memoir of Illness. New York: W.H. Freeman, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, S. Second Life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  • Creaturo, B. Courage: The Testimony of a Cancer Patient. New York: Pantheon Books, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dackman, L. Up Front: Sex and the Post-Mastectomy Woman. New York: Viking, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  • Defago, B. “Inside Talking.” In Dropped Threads 2: More of What You Aren’t Told, ed. C. Shields and M. Anderson. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Vintage Canada, 2003, p. 126–131.

  • Dobic, M. My Beautiful Life. Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genova, L. Still Alice. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giroux, S. A Chance for Life: The Suzanne Giroux Story. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: ECW Press, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. Awareness of Dying. Chicago: Aldine, 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, R. and Taylor, J. Man in Motion. Vancouver/Toronto, Canada: Douglas and McIntyre, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huggett, N. “Life With Jessie.” In The Morningside Years, ed. by P. Gzowski, 178–181. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McClelland and Stewart, 1997.

  • Johnson, M. The Body in the Mind: The Bodily Basis of Meaning, Imagination, and Reason. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, W.H. and Buttery, M. “Sudden Death: Survivors’ Perceptions of Their Emergency Department Experience,” Journal of Emergency Nursing 7 (1981): 14–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, B.S. Slow Dance: A Story of Stroke, Love and Disability. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Vintage, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korda, M. Man to Man: Surviving Prostate Cancer. New York: Random House, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lear, M.W. Heartsounds. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  • LeBlanc, S. “Sophie LeBlanc.” In An Unexpected Journey: Women’s Voices of Hope After Breast Cancer, ed. by A. Galambos, 80–100. Charlottetown, PEI: Gynergy Books, 1998.

  • Levine, M. Surviving Cancer. One Woman’s Story and Her Inspiring Program for Anyone Facing a Cancer Diagnosis. New York: Broadway Books, 2001.

  • MacRae, B. “Beryl MacRae.” In An Unexpected Journey: Women’s Voices of Hope After Breast Cancer, ed. by A. Galambos, 28–31. Charlottetown, PEI: Gynergy Books, 1998.

  • Maynard, D.W. “On ‘Realization’ in Everyday Life: The Forecasting of Bad News as a Social Relation,” American Sociological Review 61 (1996): 109–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGowin, D.F. Living in the Labyrinth: A Personal Journey Through the Maze of Alzheimer’s. NY, New York: Delacorte, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morse, J.M., and Chung, S.E. “Towards Holism: The Significance of Methodological Pluralism,” Korean Journal of Nursing Query 12 (2003): 38–48. Reprinted in International Journal for Qualitative Methods 2 (2003): Article 2, http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/2_3final/html/morsechung.html

  • Morse, J.M., Konrad, S., Pooler, C. and Mott, R. “Patterns of Suffering: Emotional Responses While Waiting for Breast Biopsy Results” (2011).

  • Murphy, R.F., The Body Silent. New York: W.W. Norton, 1987/1990.

  • Peabody, B. The Screaming Room: A Mother’s Journal of Her Son’s Struggle With AIDS—A True Story of Love, Dedication, and Courage. New York: Avon, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potter, E. “Elizabeth Potter.” In An Unexpected Journey: Women's Voices of Hope After Breast Cancer, ed. by A. Galambos, 13–17. Charlottetown, PEI: Gynergy Books, 1998.

  • Radner, G. It’s Always Something. New York: Avon, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reeve, C. Still Me. New York: Ballantine, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rollin, B. First, You Cry. Bergenfield, New Jersey: Signet Books, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stinson, R. and Stinson, P. The Long Dying of Baby Andrew. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Little, Brown and Company, 1979/1983.

  • Styron, W. Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness. New York: Random House, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  • VanBuskirk, C. “Carolyn VanBuskirk.” In An Unexpected Journey: Women’s Voices of Hope After Breast Cancer, ed. A. Galambos, 45–51. Charlottetown, PEI: Gynergy Books, 1998.

  • van Tighem, P. The Bear’s Embrace: A True Story of Surviving a Grizzly Bear Attack. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Greystone Books, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wirvin, F. “Living Through Aneurysm,” Canadian Nurse 99 (2003), 10–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodman, M. Bone: Dying Into Life. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Penguin Books, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Janice Morse.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Morse, J. Hearing Bad News. J Med Humanit 32, 187–211 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-011-9138-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-011-9138-4

Keywords

Navigation