Abstract
As the incidence of new cases of cancer increases every year, breaking bad news to patients is very important. The purpose of our study was to explore the lived experiences of Iranian cancer patients about hearing such bad news. This qualitative research was carried out by a hermeneutic phenomenologic approach. We interviewed 11 cancer patients to understand their lived experiences regarding hearing bad news. We used the seven-stage method of data analysis. One constitutive pattern—psychosocial distress as a factor in patients with cancer seeking support—and two associated themes—namely “distress” and “seeking support”—were identified. Distress had two subcategories: psychological distress and cultural distress. Seeking support also had two subcategories: therapeutic support and social support seeking. The findings present better understanding of the lived experiences of cancer patients in Iran regarding the phenomena being studied. Health-care providers should attend to patients’ conditions as well as the challenges of the cultural, physical, emotional, and social sequelae of hearing bad news in patients with cancer.
