TY - JOUR
T1 - The possibility of impossibility
T2 - The hope for a cure among terminally ill cancer patients in China
AU - Zhang, Xin
AU - Ju, Bei
AU - Tu, Jiong
AU - Wang, Bo
AU - Liu, Xuan
AU - Wang, Zhechen
AU - Cheng, Yu
AU - Zhang, Changhua
AU - He, Yulong
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to show our gratitude to the participants for sharing their views on the hope for a cure with sincerity. We thank Dr Longwen Fu, Dr Yinhua Zhou, Dr Yanping Liu and Dr Juan Hu who make comment on this article. This study was funded by the Research on the Construction of an Inclusive Hospice System with Chinese Characteristics, Key Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China (Project No. 20AZD070).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Objective: Although the medical potential of the hope for a cure has been fiercely debated within academia, few researchers have approached this topic from the perspective of terminally ill cancer patients themselves. As such, this article aims to help bridge the gap by exploring how terminally ill cancer patients in China construct the hope for a cure. Methods: Seventeen terminally ill cancer patients were recruited from the department of oncology at a tertiary hospital, where data were collected through individual interviews and participatory observation from April to December 2020 and analysed via thematic analysis. Results: The respondents experienced a dynamic swing between construction and denial of the hope for a cure. Furthermore, the patients negotiated between three forms of hope, including the hope for a cure, the hope for prolonged life expectancy and the hope of living in the moment. Meanwhile, family-oriented hope was centred on intergenerational relationships, which further shaped the construction of the hope for a cure. Conclusion: Medical staff needs to be sensitive to terminally ill cancer patients' dynamic swing, negotiation and motivation during the process of constructing the hope for a cure.
AB - Objective: Although the medical potential of the hope for a cure has been fiercely debated within academia, few researchers have approached this topic from the perspective of terminally ill cancer patients themselves. As such, this article aims to help bridge the gap by exploring how terminally ill cancer patients in China construct the hope for a cure. Methods: Seventeen terminally ill cancer patients were recruited from the department of oncology at a tertiary hospital, where data were collected through individual interviews and participatory observation from April to December 2020 and analysed via thematic analysis. Results: The respondents experienced a dynamic swing between construction and denial of the hope for a cure. Furthermore, the patients negotiated between three forms of hope, including the hope for a cure, the hope for prolonged life expectancy and the hope of living in the moment. Meanwhile, family-oriented hope was centred on intergenerational relationships, which further shaped the construction of the hope for a cure. Conclusion: Medical staff needs to be sensitive to terminally ill cancer patients' dynamic swing, negotiation and motivation during the process of constructing the hope for a cure.
KW - China
KW - qualitative research
KW - terminally ill cancer patients
KW - the hope for a cure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139117320&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/ecc.13724
DO - 10.1111/ecc.13724
M3 - Article
C2 - 36193852
AN - SCOPUS:85139117320
SN - 0961-5423
VL - 31
JO - European Journal of Cancer Care
JF - European Journal of Cancer Care
IS - 6
M1 - e13724
ER -
