Similarities of First- and Second- Hand Accounts of Cancer Diagnoses by Two Physicians in the Literature

Abstract

First- and second-hand accounts of cancer diagnosis in physicians are rare in the literature. In the books The First Cell: And the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last, by Azra Raza, and When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi, similarities are seen. These similarities include devotion of the affected physician to his profession, and use of the literature, imagery, rhetorical questions, and repetition throughout the texts. These two works movingly show the devastating effects a cancer diagnosis has on the lives of these individuals, and how this diagnosis is uniquely devastating to a medical professional who is cognizant of their ultimate prognosis