Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
The doctor's role in helping dying patients with cancer achieve peace: a qualitative study
Megan Best1, Phyllis Butow2, Ian Olver3
1Palliative Care, Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, NSW, Australia PoCoG, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia megan.best@sydney.edu.au.
Background:
Being at peace is important for the quality of life of dying cancer patients, but its features, and the role of the doctor in facilitating peace, are unclear.
Aim:
We sought to understand the features of a peaceful patient, and patients' preferences regarding the role of the doctor in facilitating a sense of peace.
Design:
A grounded theory approach was used with semi-structured interviews. Patients were asked about the things that gave their life meaning and a sense of peace and how the doctor could support their spiritual well-being. Patients were also questioned about their concerns for their future.
Setting/Participants:
In total, 15 cancer patients with advanced disease were interviewed in a variety of care settings.
Results:
Patients were observed to be along a spectrum between having peace and not having peace. Features of the two extreme positions are described. Doctors could facilitate peace by developing a good relationship with cancer patients and supplying clear and honest information about what patients could expect as they approached their death.
Conclusion:
Spiritual well-being in cancer patients can be promoted by communication from doctors regarding prognosis, which allows them time to prepare for death, and recognition of their fears. However, acceptance of death does not always lead to the patient experiencing peace.
Related Concept Videos
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Continuing Care
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...
Ethical Dilemmas II
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Kubler Ross's Stages of Dying
In denial, individuals reject the reality of their condition, often thinking, "This isn't true; I feel fine," as a way to protect themselves from...