PhD Student Cho and Docherty Submit Oncology Nursing Society Foundation Application

Kudos to PhD student Eunji Cho and her mentor Sharron Docherty for the submission of their Oncology Nursing Society Foundation application entitled; “Human Flourishing in Young Adult Survivors of Adolescent Cancer: A Multiple Case Study.” This proposal requests funding for a one-year period with a start date of June 1, 2018.

Cancer diagnosis and its related experiences can have a life-challenging influence on adolescents and young adults (AYAs). However, there is a unique cohort of AYA cancer survivors describes a trajectory of extreme positive growth. They have abilities to move beyond the period of distress to emerge a high quality of life and capacities to grow through challenges. Human flourishing, which has not yet been described in AYAs with cancer, has a potential to explain these extraordinary cases. The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of human flourishing in AYAs who were treated with cancer during adolescence and build a tentative conceptual framework of flourishing in AYAs with cancer. A retrospective, exploratory design with a multiple case study approach will be used. Three young adult cancer survivors of adolescent cancer who are the critical cases of flourishing, and their significant others will be recruited. Data will be collected through timeline construction, a self-reported measure (Secure Flourish Scale), autobiographical writing, and interviews with multiple informants. Understanding these unique outliers will become a critical knowledge to promote AYAs’ positive development among the impact of life-threatening illnesses.