The ethnomedical approach deals with how specific illness or disease is dealt with in each culture, taking into account culturally influential ways that can help with treatment options. This approach incorporates values of cultures, traditions, and beliefs that are otherwise unrecognized. This approach describes the psychological, social, and environmental factors within a given context of a society. In some cultures, renal cell carcinoma, or any type of cancer, can be considered bad spirits that need to be warded. There are often different ritualistic remedies or herbal remedies that are considered to work. Some vegans believe that changing a diet from a strictly vegan diet has shown to resolve some forms of cancer. All these factors must be considered by anthropologist in order to completely understand in totality the disease at hand.
The main reason I chose renal cell carcinoma was because I was affiliated with a foundation called the Cassie Hines Foundation. Before Cassie Hines headed down to Florida for spring break,
abnormal abdomen pain led to a trip to the doctor’s that would forever change
her life. At the age of 16, a tumor was found on Cassie’s kidney and she
was diagnosed with tubulocystic carcinoma, a rare form of kidney cancer. She was determined to live a normal
life however, and continued on to attend Michigan State University to major in
speech pathology. As Cassie’s cancer progressed, she was admitted back to the
hospital and eventually, after nothing more could be done medically, released
and sent home on hospice care. Cassie passed away on March 1, 2012 at the age
of 21. The Cassie Hines Shoe Cancer Foundation was founded in her honor in
hopes of make cancer support groups and other treatment options more available
and accessible to patients between the ages of 16 and 35. This foundation directs cancer patients
to different types of treatment options for renal cell carcinoma, which can
range from partial or radical nephrectomy to newer medicines that specifically
target kidney cancer.
I thought that this foundation showed an enthnomedical approach in an interesting way. The treatment options ranged from nephrectomy, which is a surgical removal of partial or total tumors on the kidneys. The other approach, which I wanted to focus more on, was the camp they offered, for kids between the ages of 16-35 who suffered from cancer. This camp brings kids together so that they can empathize and relate with other people are in the same predicament, allowing them to deal with the deadly cancer they have to come to terms with. Now this approach may not remedy the cancer itself, but it treats the patient therapeutically, and allows them to cope with their disease on a more holistic level. They are better able to cope with their disease because they are in a microcosm, and within that culture, they find answers, peace, and acceptance. They are able to see people who have dealt with or are dealing with what they are dealing with, and better understand their belief system when it comes to medicine.
This culture that is created within these camps allows patients who suffer from renal cell carcinoma to skin cancer to better appreciate their circumstance. I believe that these patients end up enjoying the rest of their lives, whether it be 1 month or several years, because they know they lived it to the fullest rather than sulking in the belief that they have terminal cancer.
I thought that this foundation showed an enthnomedical approach in an interesting way. The treatment options ranged from nephrectomy, which is a surgical removal of partial or total tumors on the kidneys. The other approach, which I wanted to focus more on, was the camp they offered, for kids between the ages of 16-35 who suffered from cancer. This camp brings kids together so that they can empathize and relate with other people are in the same predicament, allowing them to deal with the deadly cancer they have to come to terms with. Now this approach may not remedy the cancer itself, but it treats the patient therapeutically, and allows them to cope with their disease on a more holistic level. They are better able to cope with their disease because they are in a microcosm, and within that culture, they find answers, peace, and acceptance. They are able to see people who have dealt with or are dealing with what they are dealing with, and better understand their belief system when it comes to medicine.
This culture that is created within these camps allows patients who suffer from renal cell carcinoma to skin cancer to better appreciate their circumstance. I believe that these patients end up enjoying the rest of their lives, whether it be 1 month or several years, because they know they lived it to the fullest rather than sulking in the belief that they have terminal cancer.
SOURCES: http://www.cassiehinesshoescancer.org
National Cancer Institute, Last updated 2013.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/treatment
National Cancer Institute, Last updated 2013.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/treatment
