Background: Each year 370 children in Sweden suffer from childhood cancer. These numbers also reflect those 70 families that suffer alongside the child from this burdened information that will change their entire life situation. To work with family-centeredcare means that the parents are given room for participation and to engage in the child’s care.
Aim: The aim of this literature study is to describe parents´ experiences with living with a child with cancer.
Method: A literature study with a descriptive design, based on 12 scientific articles. The literature research was conducted using the Pubmed database.
Results: The results consisted of two main categories: Life is turned upside down and The new “normal” which had the following subcategories: Initial reaction, Changed family dynamics and everyday life, Support, Acceptance and From the hospital to the home.
Conclusion: Parents´ experienced a variety of emotions such as shock, sadness, denialand powerlessness. Support in its various forms from healthcare and the surrounding environment eased the suffering that the parents experienced and enabled them to cope with the difficult period they were going through.
Keywords: Neoplasm, Parents’ experience, pediatric cancer, support
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