More Than Survival: Bridging Medicine & the Human Spirit in Cancer Care

 Today's entry is little different from those I've been writing in the past few days. While this still carries some of my thoughts and reflection - it isn't so much about my own personal evolving (well, I am sure that's arguable - but I believe you will know what I mean). It's still my reflection - and how I view the subject matter (what I am writing about in this article).

So, anyway - here it goes:

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Growing up, I remember the word “cancer” was a huge taboo – at best, people whispered it as the “C” word. Even today, in 2025, it’s still a word that stops conversations.

Over the years, I’ve sat with clients who whispered it, shouted it, or tried not to say it at all.
And closer to home, I’ve watched loved ones walk that path – sometimes living far beyond what statistics predicted, reminding me that numbers can’t fully measure the human will to live, to hope, to keep going.

In those moments, I’ve wondered: what would it feel like to hold both?
The clinical precision of medicine – statistics, treatment plans, measurable outcomes – and the softer, resilient strength of hope, belief, and the mind-body spirit that can’t be graphed or charted as easily.

1.   The Two Perspectives (explained without judgment)

Clinical / Medical View
Purpose: Diagnose, stage, and treat disease – targeting tumors, cells, and biomarkers.
Strengths:

·     Evidence-based treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy)

·     Reduces tumor burden, prolongs life, sometimes achieves remission

·     Provides measurable outcomes to guide care

Limitations:

·     Risks reducing the person to “case X, stage II”

·     Can overlook emotional, existential, and spiritual distress that accompany illness

Mind-Body / Holistic View
Purpose: Recognizes cancer as not only a disease of cells, but an experience touching  
                 the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.
Strengths:

·     Addresses fear, loss, identity, and meaning

·     Uses tools like guided imagery, mindfulness, hypnotherapy to reduce anxiety and pain

·     Supports treatment adherence and overall well-being

Limitations:

·     Risks being dismissed as “unscientific” if poorly integrated

·     Overpromising can create guilt (“You didn’t fight hard enough”)

 

Analogy:
The clinical view is like a microscope – sharp, precise, focused on disease.
The mind-body view is like a wide lens – seeing the whole person, their story, and context.
Together, we see more clearly.

 

2.     Why Awareness Matters
During my years working in cancer awareness, oncologists and survivors alike often reminded me: “Don’t let the numbers define the person.”
Survival rates matter – but so does remembering that some will belong to the group that heals, not just the group that succumbs.
Hope isn’t false when it’s grounded in compassion, honesty, and possibility.

For clinicians:

·      Avoid purely technical language; speak to the human being, not only the tumor

·      Recognize fear, grief, and anger as normal – not “non-compliance”

·      Refer to psychosocial or integrative care where possible

For families & patients:

·     Use medical advice as a solid anchor, but also seek emotional and spiritual support

·     Explore practices that nurture hope and resilience: mindfulness, prayer, support groups

·     Redefine “fighting cancer” beyond just a physical endeavour

Shared risks if we don’t bridge these views:

·     Pathologizing natural fear or sadness

·     Missing social or spiritual distress that undermines healing

·     Letting survival statistics overshadow a person’s lived reality

 

3.     Bridging the Gap (Practical Steps)

For healthcare teams:

·      Use medical precision to treat disease and remember the story around it

·      Integrate psychosocial support, mindfulness, palliative care, and patient-centered dialogue

·      Frame hope not as denial, but as part of human resilience

For families & patients:

·      Embrace both clinical care and holistic tools

·      Challenge narratives that reduce identity to diagnosis

·      Seek support groups, mentors, or therapists who see the whole person

Shared action:

·      Advocate for integrative oncology – an evidence-informed approach combining conventional medicine with mind-body and lifestyle support

·      Push for environments that foster dignity and connection, not just treatment

 

Closing Invitation

I share these reflections not as an oncologist, but as a psychologist who believes in the mind-body – and spirit – connection; and as someone who has seen, both personally and professionally, how deeply cancer touches more than the body alone.

My hope is that each person facing cancer is seen as more than a diagnosis: as a parent, sibling, child, friend, dreamer – still growing, still loving, still becoming.

And perhaps, by bringing together what science offers and what the heart remembers, we can create a gentler, wiser way to walk this path – so that living with cancer becomes not only about surviving, but about truly living.

Note:
These reflections come from my experience and observations in mind-body healing.
I am not an oncology specialist – simply someone striving to make a small difference by sharing what I’ve come to know – and staying open to what others might teach me through their stories.

 

Dr Sylvester J Lim PsyD, CHt, NCAPS, MCMA
Consultant Psychologist, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychological (Life Coach)
NOW Mind Body Healing Centre