背景: 當母親被診斷為癌症時，對家中未成年子女之生理、心理與社會適應等方面均會造成重大影響。目前有關學齡期兒童面對母親罹癌之經驗歷程的相關研究付之闕如。 目的: 探討學齡期兒童面對母親罹癌之經驗歷程。 方法: 採現象學研究法，以立意取樣，共 10位學齡期兒童參與研究並知情母親罹癌。 結果: 資料分析學齡期兒童面對母親罹癌之經驗歷程，共包含五個主題：「得知罹病訊息的反應」；「因應母 親住院的分離」；「面對母親治療後的改變」；「改變生活型態」；與「擔心母親死亡／接受事實」。 結論／實務應用: 學齡期兒童面對母親罹癌之經驗歷程，可供臨床護理人員及學校老師進一步了解學齡期兒童的感受、陪伴及協助學齡期兒童面對其罹癌的母親。

Background: School-aged children of mothers with cancer face physiological, psychological and social pressures. Few study findings have examined the lived experience of this vulnerable population. Purpose: This study describes the experience of school-aged children of mothers suffering from cancer. Methods: The researchers adopted a phenomenological approach. Purposive sampling enrolled ten school-age children as participants. Participants all had firsthand experience living with mothers suffering from cancer. Results: After data analysis, five major themes emerged. These were: 1) responding to the illness message; 2) coping with separation from their hospitalized mothers; 3) facing changes in the mothers after treatment; 4) altering lifestyles; and 5) worrying about their mother dying or accepting her death. Conclusions / Implications: This study offers primary insights into the experience of school-aged children with mothers suffering from cancer. Findings can assist clinical nurses and teachers to further understand the feelings of this population and better accompany / help them face and adjust to their situation.