Physicians’ Emotions in the Cancer Setting: A Basic Guide to Improving Well-Being and Doctor–Patient Communication

It is common knowledge that confronting death is quite anxiety-provoking. Continued exposure to suffering, physical and mental deterioration, disfigurement, loss and pain elicits significant emotions in medical staff working in the oncology setting. In addition, disease chronicity, which facilitates the development of intense doctor–patient relationships, complex medical decision-making, and unconscious attitudes towards helping interact with clinical pressure and other factors and may result in tiredness, emotional confusion, helplessness, and lack of empathy, all of which may interfere in the staff’s general sense of well-being as well as in their relationship with patients. Identifying and elaborating one’s feelings adequately in this context, taking into account personality traits, personal history, and intrapsychic variables, is of primary importance for oncology staff members in order to develop efficient communication skills with patients and their families.