Children undergoing cancer treatment describe their experiences of comfort in interviews and drawings.

Abstract

Children with cancer often undergo a long course of treatment, described as painful, and associated with feelings of discomfort and need of comfort. The aim of this descriptive interview study was to investigate how children, aged 3 to 9 years, undergoing cancer treatment describe their experience of comfort. The children were interviewed and asked to make drawings. Data were content analyzed and four themes were constructed--enduring discomfort, expressing discomfort, finding comfort, and comforting others. The findings show that the children endured discomfort during treatment, and were sometimes able to express it. They found comfort especially from their family and from hospital staff. The children also described that they comforted family members. The findings are in accordance with previous research about children's and adults' accounts of comfort. An incidental finding is that parents were surprised when they listened to the children's accounts of their experience of discomfort and comfort and achieved a better understanding of their children.