[Psychopathological factors of surgical biopsy within the scope of bone tumors]

Some particularities of cancerous conditions in bone surgery have profound psychological implications for the patients involved: their angst of death is compounded by the fear of mutilation or physical impairment. All medical treatment is undertaken to save the patient's life, but at what cost? The reactions of some patients at different stages of the process, before the diagnosis is established--during a brief stay at the hospital, when biopsy is performed--, when the diagnosis is disclosed and later, during the period of treatment, affect the medical team and are apt to seriously undermine the relationship between doctors and patients. The emergence of a tumor is a major event in a patient's life, even if this tumor eventually turns out to be of the non-malicious kind. Psychological counseling and even the prescription of psychotropic medication may prove necessary: the patient must be helped to cope with a newly acquired sense of powerlessness and the awareness of his or her own mortality. At every step of this personal experience, whether before, during or after the performance of the biopsy, the patient is likely to need help to cope with a sense of anxiety, uncertainty, loneliness, or the consequences of a brutal disclosure of his or her medical condition. Some psychic reactions may take us by surprise. In the first place, we have been puzzled by the discrepancy between the simplicity of the biopsy in operative, surgical terms and the highly emotional reaction it elicited among some patients. To the surgeon, biopsy often amounts to a quick surgical gesture. During their brief stay at the hospital, patients whose condition commands no particular attention are likely to suffer a sense of loneliness while they expect the verdict of the biopsy, and these emotions may be harder to cope with than the implications of serious surgery, should the preliminary analysis require it. Even if it turns out that surgery is not necessary, the anxiety just won't go away and a reactive depression may settle in, oddly enough, one could think. Occasionally, some patients may become aggressive in their dealings with the surgeon, who must remain calm and amenable to have them accept the terms of the treatment. Once the treatment options are reviewed (most of which are stereotypical and codified, a fact that is barely belied by the detailed explanations patiently provided by the medical staff), the patient is left alone to ponder the course and the meaning of life. At this point, life cannot go on under the best possible terms if patients are not offered the opportunity to discuss their physical and moral suffering and if no one is there to listen to complaints that transcend the scope their physical condition.