Becoming Patient: A Path to Effective Participation With Chronic Terminal Cancer

Abstract

One chronic terminal lung cancer patient was purposely selected. My grounded theory findings indicated that this middle-aged, asymptomatic, otherwise healthy woman used the basic social process of asking, “How can I participate in treatment?” in order to resolve a crisis of pain. Participation involved the overarching condition of trust in medical personnel, and included seven overlapping considerations: expense, disease progress, bodily feeling, explanations, plans, emotional reactions, and turning point. The findings provide information that may lead to smoother transitions to changing the status of a patient.