Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Multidisciplinary Care in Cancer: The Fellowship of the Ring

2005; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 23; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1200/jco.2005.09.065

1527-7755

Frances Boyle, Emma Robinson, Stewart M. Dunn, Paul Heinrich,

Cancer survivorship and care

A young woman with advanced breast cancer came with her husband for a follow-up appointment after completing eight cycles of combination chemotherapy and trastuzumab on a clinical trial. Her scans revealed a complete response to therapy, but toxicity had been significant: she had lost her hair and a lot of weight. When I commented on her suffering, she responded that she had been to see Return of the King (the third movie in The Lord of the Rings trilogy), and she felt she had developed a “Gollum look.” Pulling off her hat, she revealed three long strands of hair over her bald scalp and thin face. The resemblance to the films’ pitiable character was indeed striking. When I asked if this was how she was feeling, she laughed, “No, I’m Frodo after destroying the ring in Mount Doom, and the eagles have just swept down to carry Sam and I to safety. We’re not sure yet where we are going, but it’s got to be better than where we have been.” We reflected for a while on what made the difference between the experience of carrying the burden of the ring (as she had identified the cancer) for Gollum and Frodo. Her response was unequivocal. Gollum had done it all by himself and had been destroyed in the process. Frodo, on the other hand, had been supported by Sam and the Fellowship—a combination of professional and intimate caregivers—and had lived to tell the tale.