Hope in Patients With Cancer Transitioning to Survivorship: The Mid-Life Directions Workshop as a Supportive Intervention

Purpose/Objectives: To describe the Mid-Life Directions workshop as an intervention to support hope and quality of life in midlife cancer survivors.

Data Sources: Published articles and books.

Data Synthesis: The Mid-Life Directions workshop assists survivors to integrate the cancer experience through conscious awareness and choice, and transistion to survivorship with an increased level of adaptation. Quality of life and hope are enhanced through new information and skills allowing participants to direct their lives into a preferred future.

Conclusions: The midlife cancer survivor is challenged to face the fear of recurrence, death, and the crisis of meaning in a developmentally appropriate way. The task of midlife is to navigate the tension of generativity versus stagnation for care to emerge as the predominant strength. The Mid-Life Directions workshop provides the cancer survivor the opportunity to reevaluate goals, reprioritize values, and find one's own answers to these challenges to adapt to life as a cancer survivor.

Implications for Nursing: This clinically relevant intervention merits formal study. Facilitator preparation, mode of delivery, and other elements for possible research are discussed.