Abstract
This study aimed at unveiling the feeling of hope in people who experience cancer in their existence. Qualitative study based on Heidegger’s phenomenology, performed with eight cancer patients assisted in a philanthropic organization, between December 2013 and February 2014, in a northwestern city in Parana, Brazil, using the following guiding question: “How do you perceive the feeling of hope at this time in your life?” The analysis resulted in the ontological themes: searching for hope in dealing with cancer, and experiencing feelings of hope and despair in being with others. Patients revealed mixed feelings, going from the lack of hope at the time of diagnosis to a rekindling of hope, as well as those who never lost the will to live. We conclude that living with cancer causes extreme feelings; and hope emerges as a feeling capable of influencing and causes an expressive impact in coping with that.
Highlights
For the human being, experiencing the disease is a unique experience, faced in a singular manner and according to the context of life and interpersonal relations of each one(1)
The comprehension of the reports revealed the mix of feelings of the patients which goes through the lack of hope at the moment of the diagnosis and the rekindling of feeling, besides the expression of those who did not lose the hope to live at any time
The diagnosis of a disease such as cancer raises a diversity of feelings, especially the ones related to the worries and concerns on the future, that seems threatening and obscure when the diagnosis is established(12)
Summary
For the human being, experiencing the disease is a unique experience, faced in a singular manner and according to the context of life and interpersonal relations of each one(1). Hope, which can be defined as a subjective probability of good results, can provide meaning for the daily lives of people who pervade through diseases which threaten life, besides contributing to the welfare, satisfaction and adaptation to the factors of stress caused by the diseased(3). It is considered fundamental for the survival of the person(4). Hope becomes a feeling able to make the human being with cancer look at the horizon of his life under a new perspective, believing that something is possible even when a chronical disease such as cancer comes into his life
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
