The need for a universal language during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned from the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC)

Health professionals accustomed to expensive technological approaches to managing suffering have been surprised to learn how effective human contact and even prayer can be in countries poor in resources, where even opioids may not even be available for those facing cancer and end of life. [...]engag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Palliative & supportive care 2020-12, Vol.18 (6), p.757-758
Main Authors: Silbermann, Michael, Berger, Ann
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cancer
Collaboration
Consortia
COVID-19
COVID-19 - classification
Empathy
Essay/Personal Reflection
Guidelines as Topic
Humans
Language
Medical personnel
Palliative care
Pandemics
Pandemics - classification
Religion
Symptom Assessment - classification
Symptom Assessment - standards
Terminology as Topic
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Health professionals accustomed to expensive technological approaches to managing suffering have been surprised to learn how effective human contact and even prayer can be in countries poor in resources, where even opioids may not even be available for those facing cancer and end of life. [...]engaging in a common language also means partaking in the other's emotions. Cultivating compassion is an important coping mechanism used to deal with one's own misfortunes, as well as an opportunity to build allegiances based on mutual suffering. [...]MECC promotes the ideal that any moment of suffering belongs to the whole of humanity, and as we allay other's suffering, we rescue ourselves in turn (Abu-Odah et al., 2020; Radbruch et al., 2020).
ISSN:1478-9515
1478-9523
DOI:10.1017/S1478951520001054