Objective: To explore and understand the emotional experience and psychological needs of family members waiting for surgery during the operation of patients diagnosed with malignant tumor. Methods: I adopt purposive sampling, selecting from September to November 2015, 30 family members of malignant tumor patients admitted to a specialist hospital, using the phenomenological approach to conduct in-depth interviews with the families of these 30 patients, then analyzed the result by phenomenology method. Results: Finally, the emotional experience of the family members can be summarized as 5 themes: emotional reaction; a sense of uncertainty about prognosis; pressure; economic burden; requirements of surgical knowledge.Conclusion: Family members waiting for surgery during the operation of patients with malignant tumor do suffer from psychological problems and emotional needs. They need clinical care to give them deep humanistic care and psychological support. Medical staffs should keep abreast of the psychological experience of the patient’s family and give them targeted care interventions.

Family members of the patient, Malignant tumor, Emotional experience, Qualitative research