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| Empirical findings | Meaning condensation | Subthemes |
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| “I believe that in case of serious illness a certain amount of courage might be helpful—but still, I’ve seen people with lots of guts succumb to cancer. I’ve seen that.” | Courage to face life is important but not a cure | Courage to face life |
| “If you’re sad sometimes they [the nurses] come and sit with you for a moment—if they can feel there might be something wrong.” | Care can influence courage to face life |
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| “There was this out patient visit [at the department of oncology] where they spoke rather negatively of the effect of chemo. Somehow, this took away my hope. Because… well, I was still alive, but I felt like a really poor life when I left the department.” | Care influences hope |
Hope |
| “I certainly haven’t given up yet. But I try to be realistic—my notion of becoming a very old lady has been somewhat downplayed, due to this.” | Notions of the future are being revised |
| “I have a cousin—she’s had the same kind of disease. She became a very positive person—I hope the same will happen to me” | Personal experiences can impact hope |
| “Well, once you’ve had a cancer disease you’ve got to live with that. There are no guarantees that it won’t ever come back.” | Life has forever changed |
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| “Right from the beginning—if I should cut to the bone—I really think it’s about that I haven’t ever been afraid of dying.” | Death becomes a reality |
Existential considerations |
| “In that sense I still believe that the world can progress. Because, still there are people… who love each other, and who try to understand—I’m part of that” | Personal hope can be integrated in a universal understanding of life |
| “Of cause it would be terrible [to die right away], but I’ve lived my life. I’ve had a good education and children, I’ve worked for many years, and I’ve had friends and experiences—a good deal of failures but also some success, right? I’ve had my life” | Existential considerations can add meaning to the disease |
| “I believe that someone’s holding his hand over me.” | |
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