Perceiving Benefits in the Cancer Experience

The potential for benefits to be construed under stressful circumstances has become a topic of interest for researchers studying psychological reactions to adversity. This paper examines benefit-construal following one such stressful event—cancer. A simple framework is presented to organize qualitative and quantitative data from various literatures, including psychology, nursing, oncology, and social work, into 3 areas in which cancer survivors frequently report deriving benefits: life perspective, interpersonal relationships, and the self. This typology helps to clarify the extent and nature of benefit-finding in cancer survivors and provides directions for future research.