PLOS ONE: Meaning Making in Cancer Survivors: A Focus Group Study

open access

"In this study, we investigated the perception of meaning making in cancer survivors. We found that, in general, cancer survivors experienced more meaning after cancer in at least one specific way, most frequently related to relationships and a newly found, more conscious way of living. Some participants, however, also mentioned to have (also) experienced a loss of meaning in their lives. These were mostly losses of meaning related to physical impairments or relational distress. In addition, it seemed that some people have an unmet need to fill a gap that arises from a loss of meaningful activities, for example not being able to work anymore..The discrepancy in the literature between experiencing less or more meaning in life after cancer, was also shown in the outcomes of this study. Our results indicated that meaning making in cancer survivors is often a multifaceted process: in some specific areas (e.g. relationships) they experienced more meaning, while at the same time, meaning decreased in other areas (e.g. meaningful activities)......