THE MEANING OF CHILDHOOD CANCER: THE OCCUPATION OF DEATH WITH LIFE IN CHILDHOOD

Abstract

Childhood Cancer presents 70% chance of cure if diagnosed early, although it is a rare disease, it can result in death. The association between cancer and death becomes known to children, somehow, from the moment of diagnosis, this encounter is constant. This study sought to reveal if the subject of the death of itself or of other children with cancer are approached through the drawings stories. The research was developed in an association that provides psychosocial assistance, lodging, food and transportation to children and companions during cancer treatment. Collaborated with the research, five children who were on cancer treatment and hosted in the house, four girls and one boy, collaborated with the research. As a tool for data collection, a semi-structured interview was applied with those responsible for the children, aiming to identify general information about the child. Later, with the children, the drawing-and-story procedure was applied, by means of drawings and verbal associations, introduced by Walter Trinca, in 1972. For analysis and understanding of the information collected, we used the model of Amedeo Giorgi. Later, two thematic axes were constructed: the various losses when getting sick and the death of oneself and the ward mates. The results reveal that the child seeks to understand what happens to it and the environment, deals with uncertainty about the future, being able to feel the proximity of death and express its feelings and emotions.