The purpose of this qualitative research synthesis was to develop an ontological and theoretical understanding of presence, touch and listening in a caring conversation. The material consisted of 28 articles published between 1989 and 1997 in caring and nursing journals. The examination was based on a qualitative research synthesis approach applied to each concept separately. The synthesis was summed up in a model encompassing two modes of relating in a caring conversation: a connection with high intersubjectivity and a contact with limited intersubjectivity. In a connection the nurse is listening, using caring and connective touch and is present as 'being with' the patient. In a contact, the nurse is hearing, using task orientated touch and is present as 'being there' for the patient. A connection is grounded in a mutual receiving which allows a high degree of intersubjectivity. The nurse and the patient are not only present to each other as roles but also as unique persons. Contact is grounded in the attentive attitude of the nurse and in the fact that the nurse and the patient are relying on roles which allow a limited intersubjectivity. The model provides a point of departure for clinical discussions among nurses as well as areas for further research in the field of nurse-patient communication.

The aim of this study was to explore the ethical foundations for a caring The analysis is based on the ethics of Paul Ricoeur and deals with questions such as what kind of person the nurse ought to be and how she or he engages in caring conversations with suffering others. According to Ricoeur, ethics (the aim of an accomplished life) has primacy over morality (the articulation of aims in norms). At the ethical level, self-esteem and autonomy were shown to be essential for a person (nurse) to act with respect and responsibility. The ethical relationship of a caring conversation was found to metrical, because of the passivity inflicted by suffering. This asymmetry was found to be potentially unethical if not balanced with reciprocity. In the ethical context, the caring conversation is one in which the nurse makes room through the ethos of caritas for a suffering person to regain his or her self-esteem, and thus makes a good life possible.

Irinotecan and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) are used to treat metastatic colorectal cancer. Irinotecan's active metabolite is inactivated by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1), which is deficient in Gilbert's syndrome. Irinotecan and metabolites are transported by P-glycoprotein, encoded by ABCB1. 5-FU targets folate metabolism through inhibition of thymidylate synthase (TYMS). Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) generates active folate necessary for haematopoiesis. We retrospectively genotyped 140 Swedish and Norwegian irinotecan and 5-FU-treated colorectal cancer patients from the Nordic VI clinical trial for selected variants of UGT1A1, ABCB1, TYMS and MTHFR. We found an increased risk of clinically relevant early toxicity in patients carrying the ABCB1 3435 T/T genotype, Odds ratio (OR)=3.79 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.09–13.2), and in patients carrying the UGT1A1*28/*28 genotype, OR=4.43 (95% CI=1.30–15.2). Patients with UGT1A1*28/*28 had an especially high risk of neutropenia, OR=6.87 (95% CI=1.70–27.7). Patients who had reacted with toxicity during the first two cycles were in total treated with fewer cycles (P<0.001), and less often responded to treatment (P<0.001). Genetic variation in ABCB1 was associated with both early toxicity and lower response to treatment. Carriers of the ABCB1 1236T-2677T-3435T haplotype responded to treatment less frequently (43 vs 67%, P=0.027), and survived shorter time, OR=1.56 (95% CI=1.01–2.45).

If psychiatric patients are allowed to narrate freely they develop different plot structures, which can either hide or reveal suffering. Patients who could establish an answer to the why-question of suffering could also interpret their suffering in a way that enabled growth and reconciliation. In order to do so, they had to abandon the shelter of the façade and confront suffering and shame. This turning point opened them up to life-sustaining relationships with themselves as well as with abstract and concrete others.