Aesthetic Expression of The Life-World of School-Age Children with Advanced Cancer

Abstract

This study purposed to describe the meanings of the life-world of school-age children with advanced cancer through aesthetic expression using hermeneutic phenomenological approach informed by Gadamer as framework to study the children's lived experience with advanced cancer. The aesthetic expressions of the experiences of ten school-age children living in Negros Island, Philippines, were recruited through snowball sampling who met the inclusion criteria and voluntarily participated in this study. The participants revealed how they experienced through drawing, writing and expressing thoughts in the interviews. The analysis of data was guided by Farokhi and Hashemi's steps and based on van Manen's approach. Trust worthiness was established following Lincoln and Guba's criteria. The findings of nineteen thematic categories were reflected within five lived- worlds according to van Manen's. The thematic categories under each lived-world are presented as follows: Lived Body (1) Cancer never owned me, (2) Having physical discomforts, (3) Feeling "not normal" and (4) Changing body image; Lived Relation (1) Supportive family, (2) Appreciated compassionate school, (3) Living strength through kindness companionship; (4) Bullying was worse than cancer and (5) Inspiration from God's blessings; Lived Time (1) Hopeful thoughts for the future, (2) Remembering the past active life, (3) Feeling left-behind by others, and (4) Waiting for comfort from discomfort; Lived Space (1) So near yet so far, (2) Living in secure places; (3) Nature nurturing living with cancer and (4) Being close in cyberspace; Lived Things (1) Enhanced connectedness and knowledge through technology, and (2) Hope for technology-cured from cancer. These themes structured the participants' existential life-worlds with advanced cancer. The lived experience of the school-age children with advanced cancer as expressed through aesthetic means revealed a very positive expression of the life- worlds. Advanced cancer generally crippled the school-age child but the participants redirected their focus on the treatment towards recovery. It is recommended that the findings of this study can be used to enhance the future direction of nursing practice, education and even health policies in the care of school-age children with advanced cancer. Furthermore, future researches on this area must be done.