Meaning of life after cancer: An existential-phenomenological approach to female cancer survival

• Research into survivorship and survivors' needs is a burgeoning area of research.
• We examine the significance of lived relations (relationality) for cancer survivorship.
• Having cancer may lead women to reconceptualize the meaning of life.

SynopsisCancer survivors actively construct their lives and the meaning of cancer to better understand the process of adjustment following the disease. The aim of this study was to understand the significance of lived relations (relationality) for cancer survivorship. The methodology used was a qualitative, phenomenological lifeworld perspective focused on the stories of the participants' lived experiences as gynecological cancer survivors. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews of ten female cancer survivors. A phenomenological hermeneutic method was used to interpret the transcribed interviews. The findings revealed three main themes: mediation between the subject and the world, between subjects, and between the subject and herself. Survivorship can be best attained when individual strengths are the focus of intervention and help guide positive outcomes. Health practitioners should be aware of the potential for positive changes in their patients following trauma and adversity.