Era uma vez... Histórias de crianças (con)vivendo com a recidiva do câncer e seus ensinamentos sobre o cuidado

Abstract

Walk the hallways of a pediatric hospital specializing in oncology is, undoubtedly, a challenge for children facing the trajectory of treatment, as well as for those who experience cancer as family or professional caregivers. The fact is that thousands of children run along this route every day around the world and the expectation is that, in Brazil, new cases arise each year, constituting a major public health problem. Despite the alarming figures, there is a shortage of research with children in cancer treatment, especially in relapse. In this scenario, we conducted a qualitative research aimed at understanding the experience of illness for children in cancer recurrence. The study was conducted in a pediatric referral hospital in oncology, located in the city of Natal / RN. As a methodological strategy used the narrative interview mediated by projective resources: hospital design and puppet-character, for whom the children told their stories, beyond the researcher's field diary. For the analysis and interpretation of narratives we resort to Gadamer’s Hermeneutics. Participants were five children hospitalized for cancer recurrence, of both sexes, aged seven to ten years old. We began our journey bringing the first chapter, Childhood is construction and childhood cancer is no joke, in which we conducted a historical tour about childhood in the west going from invisibility to careful child, following with considerations about childhood cancer and ending with the presentation of our children. Then, from the dialogue with the children's narratives we have three chapters: 1) Once upon a time ... the hospital and my illness. We approached a brief history of the emergence of the hospital and the meanings attributed to the hospital and illness. They reveal that, initially, the hospital is a strange place, where they experience different pain (physical, social and emotional), and becomes a warm and caring place that enables the light of healing. About sickening, children rely on the world's loss of there: separation of school, jokes, friends and family, and the physical pain that together give rise to emotional pain caused by so many limitations. In dealing with the pain comes the ability or learning resilience. 2) Once upon a time... take care because she came back. In this we make a theoretical course on cancer recurrence, following the impact on the need tostart all over again: the return of the world's losses of there and experienced pain in previous treatments; fears before new procedures, the uncertainties of treatment, fear of death, faith and hope in healing, ending with a brief statement of the fears reported by their mothers. 3) Once upon a time ... humanized care, addressing the category of care in health humanization practices, and the importance of clear communication to the establishment of the therapeutic relationship between the child-family-doctor. Then the kids show what they do to ward off sadness: the games; the affectionate relationship with family members and professional caregivers and the faith that promote hope in better days. Through the teachings of these children, we glimpse shed light which allows new insights to existing work to subsidize best practices of humanized care to children undergoing cancer treatment.