Clinical commentary: promoting meaning in the lives of cancer survivors.
In clinical settings, nurses look for ways to encourage and to understand their patients' thoughts about the meaning of an illness in their lives. The meaning of illness is appreciated when thoughtful communication that respects the individual's needs and responses. By encouraging patients to describe their thoughts, hopes, and fears about their illness, clinicians will understand what is meaningful in life. Because creating meaning is an individual process, nurses must listen to the patient's personal story and look for the meaning of illness imbedded in it.
O'Connor
A P
AP
Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, PA, USA.
Wicker
C A
CA
D001290:Attitude; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D011788:Quality of Life; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*