https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2025.1635
The generative relationship in oncology care
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
The article explores the role of the generative relationship in oncology care, emphasizing the importance of integrating the technical-scientific dimension (“to cure”) with the relational and existential dimension (“to care”). A cancer diagnosis is described as an existential earthquake that fractures the patient’s biography, creating crisis and disorientation. To address this challenge, the article proposes a medical model based on relational anthropology, which places the patient at the center of a network of meanings and connections, transforming illness into a generative experience. Scientific evidence demonstrates that factors such as resilience, spirituality, and empathy positively influence clinical outcomes and quality of life. Art and nature are identified as fundamental tools for activating patients’ inner resources, fostering an existential narrative of continuity and transformation. The metaphor of kintsugi is used to highlight fragility as an integral part of beauty and meaning in life. The article also explores the sustainability of the generative relationship within healthcare settings, providing concrete examples such as Gemelli.ART and Isola.ART, as well as the integration of art into medical education. A new vision of medical training is proposed, that extends beyond technical-scientific competence to include the symbolic and relational dimensions of care. In this perspective, oncology care is not just a response to pain but becomes a transformative process that restores medicine to its original role as a generative and humanizing practice.
How to Cite
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
An Open Access Publication is one that meets the following two conditions:
- the author(s) and copyright holder(s) grant(s) to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, transmit and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works, in any digital medium for any responsible purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship, as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use.
- a complete version of the work and all supplemental materials, including a copy of the permission as stated above, in a suitable standard electronic format is deposited immediately upon initial publication in at least one online repository that is supported by an academic institution, scholarly society, government agency, or other well-established organization that seeks to enable open access, unrestricted distribution, interoperability, and long-term archiving.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.