Abstract
This study aimed to understand the experiences of cancer patients receiving palliative care and the significance of spirituality when coping with the pain caused by the illness and facing the possibility of death. A total of 10 adults and older adult patients diagnosed with advanced cancer being treated in the palliative care/pain ward of a cancer hospital participated in this study. The phenomenological method was used to collecting and analyzing patients’ reports, which were obtained by individual interviews. Two thematic categories emerged, namely: Faith as hope for healing, support, and trust, and search for life meaning and resignification; and Search for meaning of death and beliefs in an afterlife and in a transcendence realm. The importance of the spiritual dimension was highlighted in the experience of the dying process, allowing the search for the meaning of life and death. The present study revealed that facing death leads people to greatly cherish life, connecting them to their personal beliefs and to their search for a purpose in life.
Keywords:
Palliative care; Spirituality; Phenomenology; Neoplasms.