Meeting a cancer patient in pain: stories of difficulties

Current literature only partially explored the physician’s experience of being with a cancer patient in pain. The aim of the study was to explore the internal representation of physicians specialized in oncology and pain medicine of a challenging meeting with a cancer patient in pain. Using a written open narrative format, 46 physicians specialized in oncology and pain medicine were asked to tell “the story of a challenging meeting with a patient who was in pain”. The narrations were analysed in accordance to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three main categories were identified each with sub-themes: (1) “Non-written stories”; (2) “Written stories”; (3) “Family members”. The study showed the difficulty to be patient centered, in a context in which the pain is central, forbidding a relation between human beings. The family members, a third party, could be an interesting medium to consent a possible, and difficult, human relation.