Aesthetic engagements: "being" in everyday life with advanced cancer

Abstract

Living with advanced cancer can present an overwhelming challenge. It may impact the everyday life of the individual with respect to an array of psychological, physical, social, and existential issues. We focus on ways in which people with advanced cancer experience and use their engagement in daily activities when confronting nearing death. Through a phenomenological analysis based on Heidegger's thinking, we illuminate the complexities of "being toward death" and the human striving for authentic being through engagement in daily living. The main findings demonstrate how sensory experiences support being through an appreciation of everyday aesthetics. Furthermore, the making of material things was identified as a means to express the value of self and others in relation to the involved individual's past, present, and future.