When the cure is impossible: listening from relatives of cancer patients

Abstract

Despite the advances achieved many patients diagnosed with cancer will not have chance of cure. For the family the diagnosis of cancer brings a host of problems that go beyond the physical aspect, as it is associated with death, pain and suffering. This study used the assumptions of Symbolic Interactionism and the initial steps of Grounded Theory (GT) to understand perceptions of family in the impossibility of finding a cure for his relative. Five families of patients diagnosed with advanced cancer living in the interior of Sao Paulo, in 2008 February to April were interview, and the following categories of analysis were identified: Realizing that the disease is advanced, Dealing with the complexity of the disease; Being devoted to the family, protecting the patient and himself from reality and having hope for cure. They show the experience of these families and suggest directions for planning nursing care for these clients.