The traditional case history stifles the patient's own narrative, but increasingly patients are writing their own narratives (autopathographies or "patients' tales"). An analysis of about 270 book length tales, most written in the past 20 years, shows that more men than women write about their illnesses and that they describe serious, dramatic, or fashionable illnesses—mostly cancers and neurological problems. They write out of a desire to help other patients to come to terms with their own illnesses, to obtain catharsis, to educate and criticise carers, and to make money. Almost all patients' tales contain denial: ignoring or misattributing symptoms, causes, or the effects of therapy; deliberately hiding the illness from others; and organic denial (anosognosia). Fabrication is probably common, but obviously not quantifiable. Reading patients' tales can help doctors understand their patients better and teach them things they won't learn from textbooks.
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