Abstract
The aim of the study was to gain understanding of existential longing in health and suffering as experienced by persons who have been affected by a cancer disease. The theoretical perspective of the study is K. Eriksson's theory of Caring Science. Qualitative interviews with nine women with cancer were transcribed and interpreted using Gadamer's ontological hermeneutics. Four perspectives of longing when suffering from cancer are presented: Longing as a source to call upon for survival, Longing for the life prior to the illness, Longing directed towards deeper relations in everyday life, and Transcending longing moves towards the ultimate fulfilment. The overall interpretation led to the following thesis about the dimension of longing in the human being: Longing is becoming in a movement towards reconciliation of life, and, Longing is becoming in a movement towards transcending life. The results show that there seems to be a dynamic power in longing that can transform suffering and create health.
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