Abstract
Akira Kurosawa's 1952 film about a man with a terminal gastric cancer introduces a discussion of hope and faith in the oncology patient. A psychodynamic relationship between hope and faith is explored, using Lawrence LeShan's research in cancer psychotherapy and Erik Erikson's lifespan developmental theory. LeShan describes a cancer personality characterized by hopeless despair, while Erikson formulates a psychogenetic framework for the development of hope and despair. Hope and faith are linked through the individual's earliest strivings toward basic trust in the world and his or her own self-efficacy. Accordingly, cancer psychotherapy may aim at restoring adult patients' faith in life and inner creative resources.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kurosawa, A.,Ikiru. Japan, Toho/Kurosawa Productions, 1952, Filmscript. Great Britain, Lorimer, 1968, 1981.
LeShan, L.,You Can Fight For Your Life. New York, M. Evans and Co., 1977.
Erikson, E.,Childhood and Society. New York, W.W. Norton, 1950.
Erikson,Identity, Youth, and Crisis. New York, W.W. Norton, 1968.
Spitz, R., “Anaclitic Depression,”Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 1946,46, 312–342.
Bowlby, J., “Pathological Mourning and Childhood Mourning,”J. American Psychoanalytic Association, 1963,11, 500–541.
Ibid..
LeShan,-op. cit. p. 93.
For a more general discussion of psycho-spiritual development, see Erikson, E.,Adulthood. New York, W.W. Norton, 1978; Rizzuto, A.M.,The Birth of the Living God. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1979.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carni, E. Issues of hope and faith in the cancer patient. J Relig Health 27, 285–290 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01533196
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01533196