An Eternal Moment (A Patient's Feedback to Medical Care Givers)

Purpose/Objective(s):

Narrative Oncology can describe relevant components of a patient and health care staff interaction in a complimentary way. Fictitious microstories can provide such critical information in a concise way and respect the anonymity both of health care staff and patient.

Materials/Methods:

Narrative writing can enhance the scientific, clinical and emotional aspects and the perception of the relationship between patients and health care providers. Microstories as a short fictional composition that integrate thought-provoking characters in a well-developed plot can illustrate interactions of patients and health care staff in critical moments of life and death. These fictional ultra-short compositions do not expose any confidential patient information to a public audience. And they can, in an anonymous and precise manner, describe messages relevant for continuously improving both clinical and supportive care to our patients.

Results:

Microstory Title: The last treatment delivered today

Eight steps, four eyes, two hands, one hug

An eternal moment

The radiation treatment is over - for both

Hand in hand, out of the bunker, out of the hospital

Into the blue sky

Time to go home

Together

Conclusion:

This is just one example of a fictitious microstory based on a real patients experience.

Concise and empathic narrative oncology should be included as additional tool in the communication to our patients, to health care staff, to medical societies and to the public.

References: Bodis SB (Microstory "The Black Car") and Corn BW (Flash and FLASH: In Short, an Imaginary Bridge - Editorial). Practical Radiation Oncology, 15 (1), Jan/Feb 2025, pp. 8-11

Stephan Bodis is a US and CH Board Certified Radiation Oncologist.

Education: Medical degree University of Basel, Residency in Internal Medicine (University Hospital Zurich), Research Fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at the Institute Gustave Roussy in Villejuif-Paris and a 4 year Residency in Radiation Oncology, in the Harvard Medical School Hospitals in Boston. From 1995 to 2003 he served as Staff Physician in the Radiation Oncology Department, University Hospital Zurich with a Research Focus in Multidisciplinary Oncology and Clinical Radiation Biology. Then he headed the Radiation Oncology Center of the Canton Hospitals Aarau and Baden until 2021. He is a Member of the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich since 2012. 2015 he founded the Swiss Hyperthermia Network and contributed to understanding and implementation of clinical practice in oncologic hyperthermia. He is also a member of international clinical networks to support Radiation Oncology Infrastructure and staff teaching in LMI countries. 2023 Co-founder of “medLex”, a start-up for conflict mediation in Swiss health care facilities. 2024 publication of the first fictitious booklet “momente” (“Narrative Oncology, Microstories”), published by IL-Verlag Basel, ISBN 978-3-907237-69-4.