"Times of war and time of uncertain peace": Narratives of parents of childhood cancer survivors.
Rhyquelle Rhibna Neris, Ana Carolina Andrade Biaggi Leite, Elizabeth Papathanassoglou and 3 others
PMID 39230129WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of childhood cancer survivors described diagnosis and treatment as times of war, then survivorship as uncertain peace: fear of recurrence stayed, affecting sleep, family balance, and quality of life.
Key findings
01Ten parents, nine mothers and one father, described the diagnosis and treatment period as a time when family life stopped and became unbalanced.
02Parents described survivorship as an uncertain peace, because fear of recurrence remained, required constant vigilance, and affected sleep and quality of life.
03Parents often did not share their fear with the child or other family members, and one mother rejected the survivor label and preferred cured.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Ten parents from one outpatient clinic in Brazil participated, so the themes may not fit families in other settings. Only one father took part, so the study cannot compare fathers and mothers. Each parent was interviewed once, and transcripts were not returned to participants, so depth and participant checking were limited. Parents were in different survival stages, extended and permanent, which may blur stage-specific experiences. The study described experiences; it did not test whether family-centered care or communication changes outcomes.
Declared interests
Funded in part by CAPES, Finance Code 001, Brazil, and supported by CNPq, Grant #200580/2022-1, Brazil. The article does not state additional conflict-of-interest declarations.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that family-centered care improves quality of life. This was a narrative study of ten parents and tested no intervention.