Love, Fear, and Hope: Personal Coping Techniques of a Realistic yet Optimistic Daughter

Abstract

The purpose of this autoethnography is to explore my experience (the researcher) of coping with daily life after my mother's diagnosis of stage four metastatic breast cancer. Throughout this study, I will explore the experiences of myself and two other individuals whose mothers also have incurable advanced-stage cancer. I would like to know more about my own daily experiences and theirs in regard to how our daily lives have been impacted since the initial diagnosis. I would also like to explore the reality of living with the knowledge of a daunting inevitable loss, without a miracle. Through this study, the following themes emerged from the thick, rich data description: appreciation, fear, and coping skills.