Woodgate Roberta L, West Christina H, Tailor Ketan
Author Affiliations: Faculty of Nursing, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Dr Woodgate and Mr Tailor); and Mr Faculty of Health and Community Studies, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada (Dr West).
Cancer Nurs. 2014 Mar-Apr;37(2):146-59. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0b013e31829ded29.
Until now, most existentially focused cancer research has been conducted within adult populations. Only a handful of qualitative investigations have captured the experiences of children with cancer relative to themes such as existential fear and finitude, meaning/meaninglessness, uncertainty, authenticity, and inauthenticity.
This article aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the existential challenges faced by children living with cancer.
An interpretive, descriptive qualitative research approach was used. Thirteen children (8-17 years) undergoing treatment for cancer participated. Children participated in individual open-ended interviews and also had the opportunity to journal their experiences in a computerized drawing tool.
The 4 main themes that emerged in relation to the existential challenges experienced by children with cancer included (1) existential worry, (2) existential vacuum, (3) existential longing, and (4) existential growth. The drawing tool within the computer diary was found to be particularly beneficial in assisting children to express the existential challenges that they had previously been unable to articulate in words.
Children moved between existential anxiety and existential growth within the cancer world. The expressive means of drawing pictures gave children a therapeutic space to explore and work at understanding the existential challenges experienced.
This research provides evidence that the active engagement of children's imaginations through the use of a computer-drawing tool may have significant therapeutic value for children with cancer. As well, the findings support the importance of nurses "being there" for young patients with cancer in their time of despair.
到目前为止，大多数关注生存意义的癌症研究都是在成年人群体中进行的。只有少数定性研究探讨了癌症患儿在生存恐惧、有限性、意义/无意义、不确定性、真实性和非真实性等主题方面的经历。
本文旨在更深入地了解癌症患儿所面临的生存挑战。
采用解释性、描述性定性研究方法。13名接受癌症治疗的儿童（8 - 17岁）参与了研究。儿童参与了个人开放式访谈，并有机会在电脑绘图工具中记录他们的经历。
与癌症患儿所经历的生存挑战相关的4个主要主题包括：（1）生存担忧，（2）生存空虚，（3）生存渴望，（4）生存成长。发现电脑日记中的绘图工具在帮助儿童表达他们以前无法用言语表达的生存挑战方面特别有益。
在癌症世界中，儿童在生存焦虑和生存成长之间转换。绘画这种表达手段为儿童提供了一个治疗空间，用于探索和理解所经历的生存挑战。
本研究提供了证据，表明通过使用电脑绘图工具积极激发儿童的想象力可能对癌症患儿具有重要的治疗价值。此外，研究结果支持了护士在癌症患儿绝望时刻“陪伴在侧”的重要性。
