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Pastoral Care in Loss - Assignment

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Added on  2021-06-15

Pastoral Care in Loss - Assignment

   Added on 2021-06-15

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Running head: PASTORAL CARE IN LOSS1Case study: Terminal and Chronic IllnessNameInstitutionDate of submission
Pastoral Care in Loss - Assignment_1
PASTORAL CARE IN LOSS2IntroductionA terminal illness is a disease whereby there is no hope of recovery for the sick person.The issue of terminal illness and how to tackle them has been a difficult topic over the years. Thesuffering the patients undergoes during this period is unbearable. As such, in many countries,they have implemented different policies to deal with this matter. Some have allowed euthanasiato be carried out, but only under the consent of the patient. Other nations do not advocate forending of life (known as assisted suicide in medical terms) no matter how the pain is intolerable(Battin, Rhodes, & Silvers, 2015). A terminal disease mainly has been described to have fivephases. The first phase occurs before diagnosis, whereby a person senses and recognizes somesymptoms and signs and, thereby realizing they could have contracted a disease or an illness.The second phase is the acute period whereby diagnosis is made, and the patient is explainedvividly his/her condition. Then, the chronic phase whereby the patient receives medicaltreatment. The recovery phase follows where the patient accepts his/her status and is prepared tohandle the stigma that comes with the social, financial, physical, mental, and religious effects oftheir illness (Bovero et al., 2016). This paper discusses a case study concerning terminal andchronic illness (cancer), the pastoral role that I played in the incidence, and the pastoral strategiesemployed.Terminal and chronic illness case studyThe case study involves a 15-year-old boy (John- not real name) who was diagnosed withmetastatic osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is a malignant bone cancer with a high chance ofspreading to the lungs (Mialou et al., 2005). Primarily, osteosarcoma affects adolescents fromage 12-18 years. However, there are always variations as in some instances it can occur inchildren or adults, though in rare cases. The cure rate of the non-metastatic osteosarcoma is
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PASTORAL CARE IN LOSS3usually higher (70%) compared to the metastatic one- less than 20% at the time of diagnosis(Picci, 2007). Treatment usually involves surgery and chemotherapy based on the recent clinicalresearch trials.After John was diagnosed with metastatic osteosarcoma, he was immediately placedunder treatment. However, he did not respond so well to conventional medication and therapy.Therefore, he was taken through a therapeutic randomized clinical trial for almost a full year.The standard treatment that he was given involved; postsurgical chemotherapy, limb salvagesurgery, and up-front chemotherapy (Chou Geller, & Gorlick, 2008). He did not respond so wellto these therapies as well and, especially the up-front treatment. And so, he was taken throughanother program through randomized trials where he received additional experimentalchemotherapy.John is remaining only with his mother as he lost his father at a tender age throughprostatic cancer. However, together with his mother, they have a very close relationship, and sheencourages him every day through prayer and positive words. John has been participatingactively in all the treatment conference, and in most cases, he has been tolerating the treatment.Within the last three months of treatment, however, he struggled too much both emotionally andphysically as the procedure was taking over him (Lee et al., 2015). The end-of-therapy scanrevealed that the tumor still existed in the bone as well as lungs. During this period, Johntogether with her mother went through the most challenging moments of their life. John wasexpressing unexplainable pain (Wolfe et al., 2010) and the thought of him dying and leaving hismother alone brought tears to his eyes every time. His mother, on the other hand, wasuncontrollable due to fear of losing his son after losing her husband through an almost similarincidence. So, the mother feels an urge to progress his son’s life through a trial of unproven
Pastoral Care in Loss - Assignment_3

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