Inside of Me
Graduation project 2012
In collaboration with Catharina hospital Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Role: Author
“Many of the people here have another type of disease, I have nothing in common with them. Everyone has different experiences. You carry your own suffering home, nobody takes any notion.”
Communicating the many different perceptions of an illness
This book is a tool for people who are dealing with cancer, helping them to recognise emotions evoked by the disease and its treatment, enabling them to express those to their loved ones and health workers. This book illustrates the experiences of people with cancer during chemo therapy treatment.
The challenge
The cancer is always there and perpetrates every aspect of daily life. Not only the patients are forced to give it attention day after day, but also the people around them are influenced by it. The illness brings many different emotions with it. It is very isolating when you can't find the words to communicate to others what you're going through. The name of the disease may not change, people's experiences differ one by one. The way people perceive their disease, influences the way they get through the process of recuperation and therefore deserves attention during the treatment.
It is essential to find a way to talk about your experiences to the people around you, both your loved ones, and the health professionals who provide your treatment. This book covers a wide range of themes and how they're experienced by different people: the relationship with others, the relationship with the hospital, the most difficult and the most beautiful moments, the body, the tumour, the small annoying things, the concerns, the future, gratitude and pain.
“Together you are stronger. I am glad to have my husband, that we go through this together. It makes everything easier. When you can tell somebody about it, it suddenly is not that bad anymore. Even an injection is less painful when I can tell him.”
