Experiences and perspectives of suffering in cancer: A qualitative systematic review
Abstract
Purpose Suffering refers to a situation in which a person's illness and condition threaten their integrity. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize qualitative studies that explored suffering of persons with cancer. Method A qualitative systematic review was conducted. Psych Info, PubMed, and CINAHL were searched for relevant studies. Methodological quality was independently assessed using the Critical Appraisal Checklist from Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). A meta-aggregative approach was utilized to analyze and synthesize the data that focused on how persons with cancer perceive suffering across their illness trajectory. Results Twelve articles reporting the experiences of 230 participants were synthesized. Three synthesized findings were generated from the articles: suffering the loss of normality, suffering in relation to others and existential suffering. Suffering affects the person's normal activities of life and cause the loss of normality. Suffering in relation to others refers patients' suffering also impacts on and is impacted by those around them. The last synthesized finding refers to impact of suffering on patients' whole sense of being. In addition, feelings of hopelessness, and other mental anguish are inevitable responses that lead the patients to think about death. The overall methodological quality resulted in a ConQual rating of moderate for the synthesized findings. Conclusion The persons' suffering not only affects themselves but also others, p…
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Louise's data illustrate the complexity of the lived cancer experience, impacting different areas of life (personal, professional, family), for a long period of time, and connecting to past experiences and to the prospect of future life.
“Given that FCR was identified as the main problem for Louise, our data nicely illustrate the complexity of the lived cancer experience (Iskandar et al.,2021), impacting different areas of life (personal, professional, family), for a long period of time, and connecting to past experiences and to the prospect of future life.”
From Developing an emotion‐focused therapy model for fear of cancer recurrence: A case‐level task analysis. (2024) · cites this paper as Iskandar et al.,2021
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References 42 · Cited by 36
- Authors
- Iskandar, A. C., Rochmawati, E., & Wiechula, R.
- Affiliations
- Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta (ID)
- Venue
- European Journal of Oncology Nursing
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-10
- Volume
- 54
- Pages
- 102041
- ISSN
- 1462-3889 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3201712923
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 0.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- European Journal of Oncology Nursing (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
- Keywords
- suffering, cancer, patient experience, existential suffering, family impact, hopelessness, illness trajectory, mental anguish
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Neoplasms, Qualitative Research
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