現代医療における<癒し>の概念について : <マハトロス>への治療戦略を事例にした医療思想史的一考察

抄録

Recently many publications in socio-culture and medicine have come out which assert the importance of "iyashi (healing)" in medical settings in Japan. Especially among traditional medical practitioners and their clients, such an assertion has been emphasized in connection with criticisms of modern medicine. They insist that there is not "iyashi (healing)" in modern medicine, but in their traditional medicine, although they never mention what "iyashi (healing)" is. This paper tries to clarify what "iyashi (healing)" means. It also argues against the view there is no "iyashi (healing)" in modern medicine. For this purpose, it describes the care given to patients having terminal cancer in modern Japanese medicine, by way of providing some "Medical Anthropology". Even today Japanese physicians deem it fatal and unethical to tell the truth about a diagnosis of terminal cancer to the patient. Instead, physicians give the patient a false diagnosis. For example they say that he has a benign ulcer when he has stomach cancer. Some physicians never give the patient any diagnosis of malignancy, just saying "No problem". But some members of the patient's family, usually elderly male members, are told the true diagnosis and are asked to conceal the truth from the patient. They are asked to support him by reassuring him that he will" recover, by physicians in charge. Nurses in charge obey the physicians' order to keep silence about the diagnosis. In this way, the dying patient is surrounded with "the lie" of his entourage, physicians, nurses and his family members, and goes without recognizing the terminal time and the true diagnosis. Focusing on this situation of patients having terminal cancer, this paper argues about Japanese "iyashi (healing)."