title: Lebanese parents' experiences with a child with cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The impact of childhood cancer on the family has been studied in different cultures and continues to be an object of study and concern, In Lebanon, a country of 4 million people 282 new pediatric cases of cancer age <20 years diagnosed in 2004 were reported in 2008.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Lebanese families living with a child with cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study followed purposeful sampling in which 12 parents (mother or father) of a child with cancer were interviewed. Data were analyzed following the hermeneutical process as described by Diekelmann and Ironsides (1998).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A constitutive pattern "It is a continuous battle" and five themes emerged from the data analysis. Living with the shock of the diagnosis; Alterations in the quality of the family's life; Living with added burdens; Disease impact on the family and sibling dynamics; Living with uncertainty represent the major themes that emerged from the participants' experiences while living with a child with cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study contributes to the knowledge that would help health care professionals understand the experiences and challenges that are faced by Lebanese families living with a child with cancer. This awareness would serve as a basis for health care professionals in general and nurses in particular to understand parents' experiences, and offer support, elicit communication of feelings, and examine possibilities for forming a partnership during the challenging course of the child's illness. Supported parents are more likely to provide more effective care to their child with cancer.
authors.affiliation: American University of Beirut, School of Nursing, Lebanon.
authors.forename: May Naifeh
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Khoury
authors.forename: Huda Abu-Saad
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Huijer
authors.forename: Myrna Abi Abdallah
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Doumit
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007861:Lebanon; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult