The impact of cancer diagnosis in a child on the family environment and the care received

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand the impact on the family following a diagnosis of cancer in a child and to describe how the family members perceive the care provided by the health services. It consists of a qualitative study based on Heidegger's existential phenomenology. The study involved the participation of five families that experienced a child with cancer undergoing care. The spoken and gesticulated language of the interviewees revealed the great impact suffered following the diagnosis of cancer, a time in which the possibility of death of the child is translated into feelings of anxiety, pain and uncertainty. It was also evidenced that the care provided by health services presents unexpected change and challenges during the therapeutic journey of the disease. The importance of the results resides in the fact that they allow health professionals to reflect regarding their daily practices, as well as contemplating the matter of including the family in the therapeutic process of the child with cancer.

Descriptors: Child Health (Public Health); Family Health; Medical Oncology; Nursing.