Background: Globally, cancers are the second leading cause of death. When the cancer can no longer be cured, the care can be re-focused to palliative care. It is then important for patients to be able to participate and influence their care, and the quality of life for patients improves. Advance care planning is a person-centered process, through for example conversations, that supports patients at different stages of health to understand and share their values, life goals and preferences about their future care.

Aim: The purpose of this literature review is to describe views on advance care planning in patients with a cancer diagnosis.Method: Literature review based on 16 peer-reviewed qualitative articles that … via specific criteria, these have been quality reviewed, analyzed with thematic analysis, and compiled into a result. Searches were conducted in CINAHL, PubMed and PsycInfo.

Results: Advance care planning (ACP) is associated with both positive and negative emotions linked to conducting the conversation, how the conversation is structured, and involving others in the conversation. Three main themes and 7 sub-themes emerged: (1) Views on participating in conversation - Positive to conversation; Negative to conversation. (2) Views on content and execution - The importance of information and how it is presented; The decision-making process. (3) Views on the role of others in the process - Family and other close relatives or friends; Healthcare staff; Spiritual support.

Conclusion: Our conclusion is that patients believe that this is an important topic that needs to be addressed more, not only in palliative care but also before patients are in need of palliative care. It is important for the nurse to find out if the patient is ready for conversations, to contribute with the information the patient needs, to support the patient in the decisions they make, and to include relatives in the conversations if the patient so wishes.