Waiting room of the bone marrow transplant outpatient clinic

patient and companion experiences

Abstract

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a highly complex procedure that is becoming an alternative to some potentially serious diseases that trigger a series of conditions. The purpose of this study is to examine what the patient experiences during the transplant process, specifically while awaiting care in the waiting room. Using the narrative as a method of research, we work with the concept of unconscious, whose reference is the psychoanalytic theory. Results found refer to two axial points: the subject’s immixing, i.e., how the issue of identity passes through the otherness; and the expectation of answers in a clinic where organic changes can be very threatening in their evolution. The path traversed gives rise to questions on the role of the word in hospital institutions and concludes with the proposal that we expand our view on those of whom we care.