Existential challenges in young people living with a cancer diagnosis

•The years of young adults symbolize the shaping of one’s identity.•Living with a life-threatening disease while young can have a considerable impact on the existential dimensions of life.•These cancer survivors have profound experiences that are not always fully understood by us in health care.•Social media and blogs are a daily part of peoples’ lives. Previous research highlights blogs as a form of self-therapy.•The paper is specifically written to provide nurses with a deeper understanding of their patients’ existential needs.

PurposeIn Sweden, approximately 500 people between the ages of 15 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer each year. When someone is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, existential issues are easily triggered. Young adults are in a developmental phase of life and are exposed to an extra amount of pressure. The Internet and social media are a daily part of the life of young adults and the use of blogs is common. The aim of this study was to elucidate the theoretical framework of Yalom and his four 'givens' expressed in blogs written by young adults living with various cancer diagnoses in Sweden.MethodThis study used a qualitative method in which written stories from six public blogs were analysed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe findings offer valuable in-depth knowledge about the existential issues in this population. The results can be described as a journey with several existential challenges and with death as an impending threat. The bloggers' awareness of their mortality was described as creating a sense of loss and existential loneliness.ConclusionsThis study shows that young adults are empowered by the writing of blogs and that blogs can play an important part in increasing wellbeing and a sense of coherence within this population.