Nurse holding a glowing orb representing patient's life story.

Cancer Nursing Reimagined: Finding Meaning Beyond Treatment

Samir D’Costa in Health & Wellness December 2025 • 4 min read.

"Explore how a unitary approach, inspired by Margaret Newman's theory, can transform cancer care by focusing on the patient's unique patterns and experiences, not just the disease."

Modern medicine's advancements highlight a vital need: maintaining a caring connection with patients. This is especially true in cancer care, where individuals face pain, complications, and uncertainty. Cancer nurses are uniquely positioned to connect with patients during their most vulnerable times, helping them redefine their identities as survivors.

As nurse educators, we aim to equip Oncology Advanced Practice Nurse (OAPN) graduates with knowledge that enriches their practice and elevates healthcare delivery. We've integrated Margaret Newman's concept of Health as Expanding Consciousness (HEC) into our master's OAPN curriculum.

HEC-based reflective practice allows students to assist patients in recognizing their relationship patterns and finding meaning in their situations. HEC stems from a unitary, transformative nursing perspective, offering a pathway to identify patient patterns. By integrating the medical model within this unitary approach, OAPN students can gain a renewed professional nursing identity.

The Unitary Approach: Seeing the Whole Person

Nurse holding a glowing orb representing patient's life story.

The unitary approach emphasizes identifying a client's unique 'pattern of relating' as a pathway to meaning. Instead of solely focusing on the medical diagnosis and treatment, this approach considers the whole person—their experiences, relationships, and values. This shift allows nurses to connect with patients on a deeper level, fostering a sense of understanding and support.

Consider the case of Haru, a woman in her early 40s with advanced cancer. She and her family desired more chemotherapy, but her physician advised against it. The patient was in immense pain, reluctant to communicate. Her father visited daily but remained distant. Standard approaches failed to alleviate the situation.

The Medical Model: Focuses on explaining the disease and treatment options.
The Unitary Approach: Explores the underlying patterns and meanings within the patient's experiences.

An OAPN, guided by HEC, intentionally connected with the father, inviting him to share meaningful memories of his daughter. As he spoke of her birth and their special bond, a shift occurred. The daughter, initially unresponsive, seemed to participate in her father's story. The OAPN's presence fostered a connection, expressing their love for each other. Afterward, the nursing staff noticed a positive change in the father-daughter relationship. The patient eventually connected with the environment.

Transforming Cancer Care Through Connection

The experiences of OAPN students demonstrate the power of connecting with patients on a deeper level. By shifting from a problem-solving approach to one that emphasizes understanding and meaning, nurses can facilitate profound transformations in the lives of their patients and families.

This approach requires compassionate motivation and courage. It's about recognizing the patient's inherent wholeness and creating a space for them to connect with their own inner resources.

The HEC theory provides a framework for unitary perspective and action, guiding OAPN students to build caring connections with their clients. As healthcare shifts toward patient-centered care, this approach can enhance the quality of life for those touched by cancer.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.4172/2167-1168.1000144, Alternate LINK

Title: A Unitary Perspective For Cancer Nursing

Subject: General Medicine

Journal: Journal of Nursing & Care

Publisher: OMICS Publishing Group

Authors: Mari Takaki

Published: 2014-01-01

Everything You Need To Know

How are Oncology Advanced Practice Nurses (OAPNs) changing the way cancer care is delivered?

Oncology Advanced Practice Nurses (OAPNs) are redefining cancer care by focusing on the patient's unique 'pattern of relating' to find renewed meaning and improve survivorship. Instead of solely focusing on the disease and its treatment, OAPNs using this approach connect with patients on a deeper level, considering their experiences, relationships, and values, thus fostering a sense of understanding and support.

What is Margaret Newman's concept of Health as Expanding Consciousness (HEC), and how is it used in nursing practice?

Margaret Newman's concept of Health as Expanding Consciousness (HEC) is integrated into the Oncology Advanced Practice Nurse (OAPN) curriculum. HEC-based reflective practice enables OAPN students to help patients recognize their relationship patterns and discover meaning in their circumstances. HEC stems from a unitary, transformative nursing perspective, providing a pathway to identify patient patterns, thus renewing the professional nursing identity of OAPN students.

What does the 'unitary approach' mean in cancer nursing, and how does it differ from the traditional medical model?

The unitary approach emphasizes identifying a client's unique 'pattern of relating' as a pathway to meaning. Unlike the medical model, which focuses on the disease and treatment options, the unitary approach considers the whole person, including their experiences, relationships, and values. This shift allows nurses to connect with patients more profoundly, fostering understanding and support. The approach uses Health as Expanding Consciousness (HEC) to achieve the goal.

Can you give an example that shows how focusing on a patient's 'pattern of relating' made a difference in their care?

In the example, an Oncology Advanced Practice Nurse (OAPN) connected with the father of a patient named Haru, who had advanced cancer, inviting him to share meaningful memories of his daughter. As he recounted her birth and their special bond, Haru, initially unresponsive, seemed to engage in the story. This connection fostered by the OAPN led to a noticeable positive change in their relationship and the patient's connection with her environment, demonstrating the impact of understanding and addressing the patient's 'pattern of relating'.

What transformations can occur in cancer care by focusing on connection, understanding, and meaning?

By shifting from a problem-solving approach to one emphasizing understanding and meaning through Health as Expanding Consciousness (HEC) and focusing on the patient's 'pattern of relating', nurses can facilitate profound transformations in the lives of their patients and families. This involves moving beyond the medical model to consider the patient's experiences, relationships, and values, leading to deeper connections and renewed meaning.