Patients' Voices of Care Encounters and Organisational Influences on Existential Suffering in Cancer Care: A Qualitative Study.

Only ten women were interviewed, all in Finland, so the findings cannot be generalised to men, other countries, or all cancer patients. Participants were self-selected through a cancer society and an invitation that mentioned severe suffering or degrading treatment, so the group may have been especially likely to have negative care experiences. The interview guide was not pilot tested, and transcripts were not returned to participants for review, although one participant reviewed the findings. Participants were in different phases, including curative, palliative, and survivorship, so experiences may not be comparable across those stages.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding came from several foundations and university funds. Express Scribe and Microsoft Excel were used for transcription and data management, and a locally hosted version of M365 Copilot was used only for language editing.

Do not read this as proof that listening and step-by-step explanations reduce suffering in all cancer patients. It is a qualitative interview study of ten women, self-selected through a cancer society after an invitation about severe suffering or degrading treatment, so it describes these participants' experiences rather than measuring change.