Limitations

The participant group in this study were all middle-class people of European descent and had experienced a diverse range of cancers, treatment and prognoses. Therefore, the findings may not be directly transferable to other ethnic groups. Having said that, other research we have done with people of diverse ethnicities has identified the idea of ‘connectedness’ as having a central importance in shaping meaning in these cultures and their communities (Ahuriri-Driscoll et al ., 2014; Lee & Reid 2012). Although these findings are likely to be applicable across cultures (Yoon Lee & Goh, 2008; Yoon & Lee, 2010; Yoon, Jung, Lee, & Felix-Mora, 2012; Kurtz, 2013) further evaluation is necessary.