The Importance of Metaphors in Medicine

Susan Sontag says that one day we're going to understand cancer in a similar way that we now understand tuberculosis. She predicts that the mythology that surrounds the illness will change, as will the way the patients are treated by society and by doctors who diagnose them. "There is no reason why the language and metaphors that surround illness can't be more empowering towards someone who's going through it," she said.