Life experiences of elderly with cancer pain: the existential comprehensive approach^*

Vivencias de ancianos con el dolor oncológico: abordaje comprensivo existencial

OBJECTIVE

Understanding the experiences of elderly with cancer pain.

METHOD

Qualitative research based on Heidegger's phenomenology. 12 elderly cancer patients from a city in northwest Paraná were interviewed from November 2013 to February 2014.

RESULTS

Analysis performed by vague, median and interpretive understanding which resulted in two ontological themes: Cancer pain: unveiling the imprisonment and impositions experienced by the elderly, and Unveiling the anguish of living with cancer pain; it revealed not only how the elderly experience pain in their daily lives, but also how hard it is to live with its particularities.

CONCLUSION

Cancer pain has biopsychosocial repercussions for the elderly, generating changes in their existence in the world, requiring holistic and authentic care.

Aged; Neoplasms; Pain; Oncology Nursing