Dhruv Khullar explores the effect of metaphorical language used in medicine on patient outcomes. Despite common beliefs, he references studies in which describing patient illnesses as “battles” along with other military language can have a negative impact on their progression with the disease. In contrast, he also has evidence that these metaphors can have a positive affect on patients. It heavily depends on the patient’s background and perspective on their condition.

I found Khullar’s The Trouble With Medicine’s Metaphors to be very interesting – it made me think about a whole new meaning to the language we commonly use towards people with diseases such as cancer. I have never considered that calling people “fighters” in a “battle” against their disease (along with other military terms) could carry anything aside from a strong and positive meaning. After reading this I can see the idea from Khullar’s perspective. I think it is really important to recognize that it depends on the patient, and everyone will handle things in their own way. You need to get to know your patient and know what kind of language works best for them. I feel like I have been very close-minded about the effects of language in the healthcare setting and it was eye-opening to read this. Language has the power to change perspective, and it should be adapted to individuals in order to have the most positive outcome on their life.

“To design metaphors, it helps to have a metaphor for a metaphor. I think of it as a room: the windows and doors frame a view toward the reality outside. Put the windows high, people only see the trees. Put them low, they see the grass. Put the window on the south side, they’ll see the sun” (Erard). This quote from Erard’s See Through Words describes the way metaphors can be used to change people’s perspectives on topics through language.

“…whenever we give a thing a name that belongs to something else, we give it a whole network of analogies too. We mix and match what we know about the metaphor’s source, in this case the sun, with what we know about its target, Juliet. And metaphor fives us a much more vivid understanding of Juliet than if Shakespeare had literally described what she looked like” (Geary). This quote from James Geary’s TED Talk “Metaphorically Speaking” describes the imagery that metaphors can give us through comparisons in a way that literal descriptions cannot – it completely changes the experience a person has with a concept.

“One study, from 2010, found that physicians use metaphors in almost two-thirds of their conversations with patients who have serious illnesses. Physicians who used more metaphors were seen as better communicators” (Khullar). This fact from Khullar’s The Trouble With Medicine’s Metaphors shows how imperative the use of metaphors in conversation between healthcare provider and patient is to break the medical language barrier and help move towards a more understood and productive conversation.