How medical students experience disease-related information processing when a family member has cancer: a qualitative study

Communication of disease-related information in cancer care involves not only patients but also family members. In the Chinese family context, family members are often involved in obtaining, communicating, and processing illness-related information. However, little is known about how individuals with medical training experience this process when a family member is diagnosed with cancer. To explore the experiences of medical students in disease-related information processing when a family member has cancer. This descriptive phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews with 18 medical students who had participated in family discussions or decision-making concerning cancer-related disclosure and related care activities. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step phenomenological method. Three themes and six subthemes were identified. The first theme, unavoidable reality of illness, included early awareness of the implications of illness through medical knowledge and becoming the family's "medical interpreter." The second theme, gradual presentation of partial illness reality throughout the disease course, included finding ways to communicate information that patients could accept and continuously adjusting communication as the illness evolved. The third theme, difficulty confirming whether decisions were right, included persistent concerns about disease progression and difficulty finding peace of mind because of repeated reflection on prior decisions and changes in patients' conditions. For medical students with a family member diagnosed with cancer, medical knowledge enabled earlier awareness of treatment, disease progression, and possible future outcomes. Disease-related information processing was experienced not as a one-time decision about disclosure or concealment but as an ongoing process throughout the illness trajectory. Understanding these experiences may help improve recognition of the circumstances and support needs of medical student family members involved in disease-related communication and information processing.