[The experience of the "oncologic patient": (re)conceptualizing the informative act]

The adaptation of the patient to the conditions of chronic illness makes the information given to the patient one of the most powerful strategies, capable of contributing to a change in the social representation of the patient, from that of a mere clinical case to that of a holistic being. The objective of this study was to investigate the scientific work published in periodicals indexed by the Medline and Lilacs databases between 1990 and 2006 as to the informative act and the different forms in which information is provided to oncology patients. This analysis of the literature led to the conclusion that there has been an increase in the volume of publications, underlining the role of the oncology patient as a catalyst for new strategies for psychosocial adjustment and revealing her key role through her status as a 'professional patient'.