Developing a new language for ABC
The Here & Now campaign’s research to date has exposed that patients with ABC often feel isolated from society1, highlighting a unique set of challenges these patients face.
Language Guides
New Language of ABC survey
Further to these findings the Here & Now campaign distributed and collected results from an online multiple choice surveys conducted in x3 European countries: Cyprus, Poland and Greece. Respondents had no experience of talking to women with breast cancer and answered questions based on one of two profiles: a woman with early breast cancer and a woman with advanced breast cancer (ABC). The questions covered both initial conversations regarding diagnosis and ongoing discussions throughout the women’s breast cancer journey and looked at a number of topics including: reactions to diagnosis, offering supporting, and topics of conversation and potential phrases people may use.
The findings from the research conducted were revealed at the meeting, and identified that people often do not know what to say to patients with ABC. Currently, for fear of saying ‘the wrong thing’2, many people withdraw from relationships with ABC patients and leave them feeling more isolated and unsupported.
Click here to access the results from the New Language of ABC survey.
New Language of ABC meeting
As a result, the ‘New language of ABC’ meeting was designed to provide an opportunity to identify where communication with loved ones can break down and, importantly, how we can address and better support these communication needs or gaps. The meeting focused on developing a set of recommendations to inform the development of communications guidance tool for people impacted by ABC to support dialogue between all those connected to these women.
- 100% of attendees said they would recommend the New Language of ABC tool
- 83% of attendees said they strongly agreed with the statement “I feel this tool will support friends and family to find and use the appropriate language”
Tool development
At the meeting, two workshop sessions were held, to identify the key scenarios in an ABC patient’s journey where communications can lapse and to identify suitable communication styles in order to confirm which styles may resonate well with ABC patients and those that may be less effective. The feedback from the workshop was incorporated in the development of the communications tool, which attendees also had the opportunity to feed into.
Click here to access the New Language of ABC communications guidance tool.
1 Here & Now Report. Available at: http://wearehereandnow.com/files/here-and-now-report.pdf [Last accessed September 2017] .
Cancer Council website. Available at: http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/96305/cancer-information/general-information-cancerinformation/advanced-cancer-general-information-cancer-information/end-of-life-advanced-cancer-general-information-cancerinformation/providing-emotional-support-for-someone-dying-with-cancer/ [Last accessed September 2017]