Cancer survivorship: existential suffering

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to explore and describe existential experiences after cancer treatment. Method: An exploratory phenomenological hermeneutical design was used following in-depth interviews with 21 people. Results: The study revealed experiences of multifaceted suffering in the form of limitations in everyday life, inner struggles, and bearing the burden alone. Conclusions: Existential suffering after cancer treatment was revealed as like being in a process of transition, in an intermediate state, as moving between suffering and enduring, and alternating between alienworld and homeworld. A new and broader professional perspective is needed to establish rehabilitation services based on multifaceted experiences of suffering. This means a shift in focus from biomedical symptoms towards understanding of existential meaning for the person.