“The difficulty of talking about healthcare. What do linguistic taboos about illness express?”

We know that talking about death does not cause death. And yet, it is never easy. It remains unmentionable, especially when faced with serious illness. Hence the use of metaphors, circumlocutions, euphemisms, and other discursive subterfuges to avoid the subject.

What do the taboos of our society, which bans death, tell us? If language reflects our perceptions, what are the implications of such concealment in healthcare?

Cancer is a prime example. The very word is shocking, devastating, and terrifying when heard in a medical diagnosis. Even in obituaries and tributes, it is often replaced by the standard expression "long illness."

Does naming things and ailments give them greater existence, or can it relieve the person at the end of their life by freeing up speech? How can we show sincerity without sacrificing gentleness? Does obscuring reality or masking its harshness amount to choosing a certain serenity?

At the risk of misunderstanding, is ambiguity necessary to maintain relationships in healthcare? In the triangle of sick children, parents, and caregivers, the taboo of death is often exacerbated. Does discursive avoidance risk placing additional weight and pressure on children at the end of life?

These are all questions that we will raise with the speakers invited to this meeting.

Starring:

• Vanessa Fall-Caillol, palliative care assistant at the Montpellier Cancer Institute;
• Laurent Lemaître, pediatric oncology psychologist at Montpellier University Hospital;
• Gail Taillefer, Chair of the User Committee at the Claudius Rigaud Cancer Center in Toulouse;
• an oncologist;
• and the testimonials of two patients.