Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the spiritual pain from persistent chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (PCIPN) in colon cancer patients receiving long-term oxaliplatin therapy. The subjects were 20 colon cancer patients who underwent therapeutic intervention including oxaliplatin with a total dose of at least 850 mg/m² at the outpatient department of the hospital. Data were collected via a semi-structured interview method and analyzed with method of content analysis. Spiritual pain from PCIPN was expressed by a total of 6 subjects and formed 2 categories, "Losing sight of my values because of functional impairment from PCIPN" and "Threatening the value of my existence in the family owing to PCIPN." The present study revealed that spiritual pain from PCIPN existed not only in the patients' self-contained distress, but also in the distress related to their family relationships.

Keywords: Spiritual pain, chemotherapy, neuropathy, colon cancer, oxaliplatin