Coping

“In mijn hoofd blijf ik dertig, in de spiegel jammer genoeg niet.”

Een verzuchting van velen met zo’n halve eeuw of meer op de teller.

En het is meer dan de spiegel alleen. Ons lijf, dat voor de meesten lange tijd een betrouwbare vriend is gebleken, wil bij momenten nukkig zijn, en doet niet meer wat we in gedachten hadden. Daar komt nog bij dat de omgeving die terugval best wel merkt. Ons lijf wordt dan de boodschapper van ons ouder-worden.

Wat doet ouder worden met ons lichaam?

Hope is important for individuals with cancer in palliative care. Health professionals’ perspective on hope affects the communication with palliative patients. The aim of this study was to explore how Dutch health professionals deal with palliative patients with cancer who hope for prolongation of life. Focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted. An interpretive description approach was used to understand the interpretation of and reaction to hopefulness in palliative patients with cancer by health professionals.

This thesis describes hope in palliative care patients, their family members and their healthcare professionals. An interpretative synthesis of the literature (chapter 2) and a metaphor analysis of semi-structured interviews with palliative care professionals (chapter 3) highlight palliative care professionals’ perspectives on hope. The findings support healthcare professionals to reflect on their ethics of hope and to widen their communicative repertoire.