Mothers' Lived Experiences of Losing a Child to Cancer: A Phenomenological Study

The death of a child is undoubtedly the most arduous encounter for a mother in her lifetime, and it elicits numerous psychological detriments. Specifically, the death of a child resulting from cancer carries its own set of challenges. Analyzing the lived experience of these mothers can serve as a means to identify and comprehend their grief, thus becoming the foundation for efficacious interventions. Consequently, the objective of the present investigation was to scrutinize the lived experiences of grieving mothers whose children had succumbed to cancer.

The current research was conducted utilizing a qualitative and phenomenological approach. The sampling technique employed was purposive, encompassing a maximum variation sampling. The study included a total of 13 bereaved mothers residing in Yazd city, who had lost their children to cancer. The methodology employed for data collection involved semi-structured interviews.

Subsequent to conducting the interviews and documenting them, each recorded session was transcribed and examined utilizing Colaizzi's method. This process yielded six primary themes and twenty-four secondary themes through the analysis of the data. The primary themes comprised emotional experience, physical experience, cognitive experience, challenging experience, the meaning of life, and avoidance.

These findings demonstrate the nature of the grief experienced by mothers, and these themes have the potential to facilitate effective interventions aimed at mitigating the symptoms of grief.