Shouting 'cure!'--or whispering 'hope'--in a crowded cancer ward

Hope, life, and death: a qualitative analysis of dying cancer patients' talk about hope

Although deemed vital to patient well-being, hope in persons who are terminally ill is often thought to be problematic, particularly when centered on cure. As part of a study on end-of-life decision-making, we asked 28 patients with cancer, believed to be within weeks of their death, to talk about hope. Responses were transcribed and discursively analyzed, with 3 versions of hope, each of which connected hope and life, identified--hope as essential to, and for, life; hope, life, death, and others; and, hope/s changing during (or in) life. Hope for cure was common. Rather than death-denying, patients' hope appeared life-affirming, functioning to value patients, their lives, and connections with others.

The discursive properties of "hope": a qualitative analysis of cancer patients' speech

The authors of this article question the usefulness of the empirico-realist search for a definitive definition of hope. Semistructured interviews on "do-not-resuscitate" issues with 23 oncology clinic outpatients were tape-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed following grounded-theory methodology and discursive analytical methodology. Twelve patients spontaneously spoke about hope as objective or subjective, a burden or a resource. Hope represented an evaluation of empirical states of affairs or the wish for desired outcomes and was a warrant for action or an excuse for inaction. It was attributed to both patient and caregiver, to individuals or situations. Hope was present or future oriented, both vulnerable and enduring. The variety of versions of hope has implications for interactions between health care workers and patients. Recognizing a taxonomy of hope might prove more useful than searching for definitions.