Narrative Functions to Support the Meaning-Making Process During Cancer Traumatic Experience in Pediatric Oncology

The onset of an illness such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in pediatric oncology is considered a traumatic event, not only for the child, but also for parents accompanying their child’s difficult therapeutic process; a child’s cancer is seen as a “family illness” with consequences that affect all its members (Kazak et al., 2005; Martino, Freda, & Camera, 2013). The well-being of the child is ensured by the ability of the parents to maintain the stability and cohesion of the family adapting to a changing environment (Jones et al., 2010).In general, research agrees that parents experience a variety of emotions, such as shock, disbelief, fear, anxiety, despair, sadness, anger, guilt, loss of control, and posttraumatic stress, as a result of the diagnosis (Jurbergs et al., 2009; Santacroce, 2002). Parent’s psychological stress, uncertainty, and loneliness can persist even up to 5 years or more after treatment cessation often resulting in psychopathological outcomes (Jantien Vrijmoet-Wiersma et al., 2008; Maurice-Stam et al., 2008; Norberg et al., 2006; Rodriguez et al., 2012).