Abstract
The study of how illness is experienced has been shown to enrich the quality of care. The aim of this study was to identify how adolescent pediatric cancer patients feel as they are experiencing their illness so as to provide better care. We conducted semi-structured interviews with six cancer patients and categorized their responses through an inductive descriptive analysis of their statements. Our analysis resulted in six categories: bewilderment about their utterly changed life by illness, dependency on adults, anxiety about career options in their wearisome lives, loneliness due to detachment from friends, gratitude for supportive parents and friends, and confidence in overcoming difficulties. With these mixed feelings during their illness experience, the patients gradually accepted their difficulties, overcame their sense of desperate failure and matured even under harsh medical treatment. Nursing care for adolescent cancer patients should take into consideration their mixed feelings in order to establish meaningful illness experience.
