Social worker: “Hi Mrs. Green, how have you been? Dr. Richards told me you were in the hospital in a lot of pain, what’s going on?”
Mrs. G: “Oh well I really don’t know yet, but I have been having so much pain in my back and hips that I just couldn’t take it. I couldn’t move at home, and I am kind of scared that my cancer is getting worse. I have tried to be strong and hide it from my family, but I am having a hard time being strong now. I can’t really talk to Denise about it, because she cries, we are so close.”
Social worker: “You’ve been trying to protect her from how badly you are feeling?”
Mrs. G: “Yes, she is so hopeful for a miracle…”
Social worker: “Have you been able to talk to anyone about how you feel?”
Mrs. G: “Not really, I think my son can tell, a little. He seems to understand more and push me less, but I still try to act brave for him too.”
Social worker: “What do you mean by pushing you?”
Mrs. G: “Well, she thinks I can do more than I can, and she wants to keep trying more chemo or find a new treatment, but I don’t know…I am so tired. She and Joseph see things differently. And they seem to be arguing a lot lately, I think about me.”
Recommended reading
- Zilberfein, F and Hurwitz, E. 2004. Clinical Social Work Practice at the End of Life in J. Berzoff and P. Silverman, Living with Dying: A Handbook for End-of-Life Healthcare Practitioners, Chapter 15, New York: Columbia University Press.