Abstract
Numerous studies provided evidence to support the impact of art therapy with cancer survivors on quality of life themes during and after treatment. The use of qualitative and quantitative analysis suggested the presence of repetitive quality of life themes including exploration and expression of aspects of illness, learning something about self, focusing on experiences other than cancer, maintenance of self-identity, receiving social support, and gaining insight or revelation about the world. These themes previously identified by Zammit (2001), Borgmann (2002), Reynolds & Lim (2007) and others’ research would continue to appear in the art process of cancer survivors. Results from a one- time survey assessing participants’ art therapy experiences and impact indicated that participants did believe that art therapy increased their QOL, and that all themes did continue to appear with the most prominent themes being learning
something about self, focusing on experiences other than cancer, and receiving social support.
