Significado do viver com o câncer para a criança

Abstract

Childhood cancer affects all children s life dimensions and their families. Among the psychosocial aspects in the experience of cancer, there is peculiarly, the significance of the disease to the child. This study aimed to understand the meaning of experiencing childhood cancer from the child s perspective. This is a qualitative study. The subjects were eight children with cancer, in the school age, who receive support from Children's House Institute. Data collection was performed between the months of January to May 2012, using an adaptation from the illustration-story technique for the production of empirical material. The analysis had proceeded according to the theoretical and analytical referential from the French line Discourse Analysis, and produced three discursive formations: the senses and meanings of cancer and its treatment for the child; limitations, feelings and emotions experienced by the child; minimizing unpleasant experiences during treatment. The first discursive formation revealed how was the children s discovery process before cancer, their reactions and perspectives facing an illness that recognizes to be severe, in addition to diagnostic itinerary faced. A path full of uncertainties and stigmas linked to cancer. Besides, it was identified how was for the child to enter into the world of therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, experiencing the disease s signs and symptoms, as well as the treatment s side effects. The child was showed as developing strategies that could cope with the illness. The second discursive unity seized the limitations experienced by the child before the games, school attendance, and nutritional habits. Moreover, the feelings and emotions experienced before this whole process, passing sometimes, negative feelings, like fear of death, sadness, despair and pain, and for others, positive feelings, such as joy and hope of living without the disease. In the third discursive formation, the child showed developing strategies to cope the disease. The meanings of living with cancer for children increased the understanding of how is the experience with the illness in the perspective of those who live it. Before this, it is apprehended that the provision of adequate orientations and psychosocial support before the disease s discovery; the qualified listening and sensitive dialogue that enables children to express their demands; the strengthening of the coping strategies developed by the child; the favoring of an appropriate environment to continue performing their playing and school activities, even before the hospitalization, so that their development is favored; constitute themselves into actions that should be considered by pediatric oncology nurses in order to qualify the care of children with cancer and their families.