The Meaning of Hope and the Factors Related to Hope for the Patients in the Terminal Stage of Cancer

Abstract

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe the meaning of hope for the patients in the terminal stage of cancer and the factors related to the patients' hope. The design of this study is descriptive using a qualitative research method. The participants were twelve patients admitted in the hospice/palliative care unit or attending the hospice outpatient clinic. The data were collected through non-structured interviews and participant observation, and analyzed by inductive coding.

As a result, hope for the patients in the terminal stage of cancer was reflected as three themes of “living”, “representing oneself”, and “transcending one's own death”. “Living” included the two sub-themes of ‘recovering’ and ‘continuing to live (with cancer)’ ; “representing oneself” included the four sub-themes of ‘being free’, ‘being independent’, ‘having real feeling of present life’ and ‘completion of one's own life’ ; and “transcending one's own death” included the three sub-themes of ‘leaving a proof of one's own life’, ‘having faith in life after death’ and ‘praying for happiness of others’. The important factors related to hope were revealed as internal energy for maintaining hope, awareness of approaching one's death, and human environment for fostering hope.

When considered based on the above three themes revealed as phases of hope, the meaning of hope signified a way to exist for the patients in the terminal stage of cancer.