Purpose: Consistent with current literature, which highlights the role of narration as a key tool for exploring the processes by which people construct the meaning of their critical experiences the authors propose a theoretical and methodological model to analyse the narratives of illness and identify any innovative aspects. The generative model…

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in rapid changes to head and neck cancer (HNC) services. Multidisciplinary team (MDT) face-to-face appointments were converted to telehealth appointments (telephone and video-call) to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. The literature exploring HNC patient experience of these appointment types is…

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of the Mindfulness Art Therapy Short Version for Japanese patients with advanced cancer. Patients learned mindfulness practices and then made art to express their feelings in the first session. After receiving instruction on practicing mindfulness 2 weeks later, they participated in a second…

Sexuality is an important part of normal human functioning. Gynecological cancer diagnosis and treatment has devastating effect on Sexual issues. Study aim was to investigate Oncology Nurses knowledge and attitudes in Relation to Provision of Sexual Health Care to Women Diagnosed with Gynecological Cancer. The study setting was conducted at…

The purpose of this study was to address the importance of spiritual well-being and hope among cancer patients diagnosed with its different stages. Through stratified sampling techniques, 120 cancer patients from four stages evenly divided into male and female participated in this study. Spiritual Well-being Scale (Paloutzian & Ellison, 1982)…

Hopelessness has become an increasingly important construct in palliative care research, yet concerns exist regarding the utility of existing measures when applied to patients with a terminal illness. This article describes a series of studies focused on the exploration, development, and analysis of a measure of hopelessness specifically intended…

It is rare to find the emotional component of self-directed learning discussed explicitly in the literature. This lack is particularly glaring given the interest sparked by recent brain research concerning the importance of emotion in all types of learning as well as by the dramatic increase in self-directed learning in the emotionally charged…

Although deemed vital to patient well-being, hope in persons who are terminally ill is often thought to be problematic, particularly when centered on cure. As part of a study on end-of-life decision-making, we asked 28 patients with cancer, believed to be within weeks of their death, to talk about hope. Responses were transcribed and discursively…

Trials testing the efficacy of psychological interventions for cancer patients had their beginnings in the 1970s. Since then, hundreds of trials have found interventions to be generally efficacious. In this article, we describe an intervention grounded in a conceptual model that includes psychological, behavioral, and biological components. It is…

Purpose: This study evaluates the changes in social networks of older and younger breast cancer patients over a 6-month period following their first diagnosis and how such modifications are associated with changes in the patients' mood state. Design and Methods: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were interviewed shortly after their diagnosis…

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting women worldwide. While it is true that hope influences how these victims view and live their lives, little is known as to how hope is lived and experienced by a breast cancer patient whose professional background and practice is nursing. This narrative-interpretive study purports to create a…

Previous research suggests that caregivers and terminally ill patients face substantial difficulties discussing illness and death. Existing research, however, has focused primarily on the experience of patients. The current study compared responses as well as the relative strength of association between mortality communication, fear of death, and…

Loneliness is a universal phenomenon, and its pain is intensified by a diagnosis of a terminal illness. The present study is an investigation of the strategies used by patients with Multiple sclerosis (MS), by individuals diagnosed with cancer, and by the general population to cope with loneliness. Three hundred and twenty nine MS patients, 315…

Purpose: The present research examined the extent to which rural residence and social support seeking are associated with quality of life (QOL) among breast cancer patients following chemotherapy. Methods: Female breast cancer patients (n = 46) from communities of varying degrees of rurality in a Midwestern state completed psychological and QOL…

Being diagnosed with and treated for cancer is a traumatic experience. Many cancer patients undergoing treatment manifest psychological distress and physical impairment. But this experience may also serve as a stimulus for positive growth. A growing body of literature addresses the possibility of positive growth through difficult events, a concept…