“I literally did not know what it was to feel pain”: the grieving process in families of pediatric oncological patients

Abstract

Objective: Cancer is one of the most feared diseases, for being the second leading cause of death in Brazil and for presenting an extended and painful treatment. When the child is sick, the family experiences the getting ill, the losses that result from the treatment and the anticipatory grieving process by the possibility or certainty of close death. It is a difficult and little discussed theme, that requires more research investments. In face of this demand, the present study aimed to analyze the process of grief experienced by the caregiver relatives of children with cancer. Method: It was made an exploratory research, of qualitative approach. Because of overload standard, it counted with the participation of 10 caregiver relatives (father or mother) of children with cancer, that answered a semi-instructed interview script, understood by the textual analyzes in the IRaMuTeQ software (Interface de R pour les Analyses ultimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires). Results: The results showed that the grieving process is present since the diagnosis and remains during the whole treatment. It is experienced due to the suffering, caused by all the losses that come from the treatment and by the possibility or certainty of the child’s death. Conclusion: There is the necessity of unveiling this theme, inviting parents to talk about the unspeakable – the grieves lived during the treatment -, and offer support to the family in all treatment’s phases, with special attention to the care of the caregiver.