The transcultural approach in psycho-oncology

Transcultural questions challenge psychooncology and all other fields of medicine and psychology. Cultural representations impact on experience of disease, announcement and treatment, subjective effects, coping mechanisms healing processes and recovery. Research on this topic is scarce although studies have been conducted in several countries including France, the USA and Canada. These studies explore the announcement of the illness, patient therapeutic itinerary, therapeutic observance and professional care-providers, whose position is complex in that they do not necessarily share the patient's way of thinking and expectations, nor their manner of dealing with the disease. To improve our understanding and psychological care for cancer patients, we suggest a transcultural approach to the illness and related psychological care that encompasses psychoanalysis and anthropology in a complementary perspective based on the work of Georges Devereux.