ABSTRACT
Meaning and meaning making are important for all humans, but they are particularly salient for individuals who experience life-threatening experiences (Moadel et al., 1999). Such highly stressful encounters often bring meaning to the fore (Lee, Cohen, Edgar, Laizner, & Gagnon, 2006). This chapter focuses on how meaning and meaning making determine, in part, the psychological adjustment of cancer survivors, people who have been forced by circumstance to face the possibilities of great suffering and a foreshortened future (Little & Sayers, 2004). Cancer survivors encounter many challenges as they leave primary treatment and return to lives altered by their experiences of cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, in addition to the commonly reported lingering fears and physical fragility (Bower et al., 2005; Demark-Wahnefried, Aziz, Rowland, & Pinto, 2005), survivorship also presents opportunities for individuals to transform their experiences and create a more meaningful life (Jim, Richardson, Golden-Kreutz, & Andersen, 2006). This chapter details the roles of meaning and meaning making in the psychological adjustment of individuals with cancer as they transition into longer-term survivorship. First, issues of cancer survivorship are discussed. Then, a model of the meaning-making process is presented, distinguishing between meaning making and meanings made. Within this framework, the literature relevant to meaning making in the context of cancer survivorship is reviewed. Clinical applications and directions for future research conclude the chapter.
