SUFFERING OF PATIENT ACROSS CANCER TRAJECTORY: A QUALITATIVE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Background: Suffering is a complex circumstance where a patient's integrity is threatened by their illness. This is an individual, subjective, and meaningful that is multi-dimensional, holistic, and all negative things become one. Aim: To identify, appraise, and synthesize the available evidence from qualitative research exploring the suffering of patients with cancer during their illness trajectories. Methods: The database includes PubMed, CINAHL, and Psych Info were searched in May 2020. This review has been registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020165405). This review systematically searches qualitative research studies in databases from 1982 to May 2020. Searches are limited to studies in English. The methodological quality of the selected studies using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. This review uses the metaaggregative approach to analyze and synthesize data. Result: This review identified 3 themes with 8 descriptive subthemes that explored suffering in patients with cancer across their illness trajectory. Three major themes include existential suffering, suffering the loss of normality, and suffering in relation to others. The level of confidence in the findings of this review is moderate using the ConQual approach. Conclusion: Suffering is experienced by patients with cancer at all phases of the cancer trajectory, including the become ill, advanced cancer, and end-of-life phases. Therefore, it is important that all patients be offered holistic care, that patients are therefore given chances to communicate their feelings of suffering and allow them to understand their condition so that they feel supported, respected, and help them achieve healing