To systematically evaluate the real experience of cancer patients with pain, and to provide a reference for medical personnel to formulate comprehensive and targeted cancer pain management plans, this systematic review retrieved qualitative studies on the illness experience of cancer pain patients from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, CNKI, Wanfang, CQVIP, and the China Biomedical Literature Database, covering literature up to January 2025. The included studies were evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Evidence-based Health Care Centre qualitative research quality assessment criteria and synthesized using meta-aggregation. A total of 18 articles were included, yielding 71 themes categorized into 9 categories and consolidated into 4 integrated findings: the multi-dimensional dilemma of psychological pain and physical discomfort, multiple challenges of cancer pain management, social and cultural constraints and support network fracture, and cancer pain cognition and response. These findings underscore the importance for medical staff to prioritize the patient experience of cancer pain. To enhance patient coping efficacy, it is crucial to establish a comprehensive person-centered, full-process, and culturally-sensitive care model, implementing stratified psychological interventions, culturally-sensitive communication, and precise pain education.

Zhimiao Wang, Miao Cheng, Aichun Zhou. Beyond Physical Suffering: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis of the Multidimensional Illness Experience in Cancer Pain Patients. Academic Journal of Medicine & Health Sciences (2025), Vol. 6, Issue 6: 32-40. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJMHS.2025.060605.

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