引用
台灣癌症患者的身體經驗:病痛、死亡與醫療專業權力
The Body Experience of Taiwanese Cancer Patients: Illness, Death, and the Power of the Medical Profession
作者:蔡友月(Yu-Yueh TSAI) | 首次發表於 2020-07-01 | 第 33 期 December 2004
DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.6786/TJS.200412_(33).0002
研究論文(Research Articles)
論文資訊 | Article information
摘要 Abstract
本文嘗試以「身體」做為一種理論角度出發,並以此做為連結微觀行動者與鉅觀社會的橋樑。作者藉由36位由初期到末期癌症病患的田野資料,所呈現的「新的身體管理技術」、「身體心像與自我認同的改變」、「病痛的身體與醫療專業權力」、「安寧病房內的身體政治學」,思索這些癌症病患如何面對病痛、死亡與醫療專業權力的相關議題。
透過癌症病患身體經驗的田野觀察,筆者指出,社會、文化的因素如何作用在這些不同性別、年齡、診斷的癌症患者身上,以及實證醫學面對現代人病痛的限制與盲點。本文希望透過受訪者病痛的經驗進一步反省醫療專業權力的不足與濫用,期待有助於台灣醫療專業有更多的反思。筆者認為,身處當代社會的行動者,唯有意識到病痛的身體為何會受這些外在力量所左右,理解到社會、文化加諸在身體的外在規約力量與現代醫療的限制,在面對不可治癒的疾病時,才有能力轉化身體限制,並重新賦予病痛意義,進而使我們對自身生命的存在有新的理解方式。

關鍵字:身體、身體心像、病痛、醫療專業權力、安寧療護
The author synthesizes the micro and macro levels of illness and analyzes how cancer patients experience illness under the influence of modern medicine. Using data from participant observations and/or interviews with 36 Taiwanese cancer patients, the paper focuses on how modern medical, cultural, and social factors shape experiences of diseased bodies. Also examined are the new ”administrative technology of body” in contemporary society, changes in body images and self-identities, relationships between diseased bodies and the power of the medical profession, and ”body politics” in hospice treatment. The results show that a) individual experiences of cancer differ, and b) modern medicine and cultural and social factors play important roles in shaping such experiences. The limitations of modern medicine in dealing with chronic and incurable diseases are also discussed. The final issue analyzed in this paper concerns the possibility of cancer patients achieving autonomy in dealing with their illnesses within the confines of modem medical practices. The author argues that patients can impart new meanings to their suffering and that alternative agencies can arise, but only when they recognize the limitations of modem medicine and understand how medical, cultural, and social factors regulate their bodies.

Keywords: body, body image, illness, medical professional power, hospice