Sydney, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are the two main characters in the 2007 film The Bucket List who react to their terminal cancer diagnoses by refusing experimental treatment. Instead, they go on a series of energetic, exotic escapades.
Since then, the term "bucket list" – a list of experiences or accomplishments that must be completed before you "kick out" or die – has become common.
You can read the article on 100 Australian Bucket-List Travel Experiences listing the seven cities you must visit before you die. But there is also a more serious side to the idea behind the bucket list.A major form of suffering at the end of life is regret for things unsaid or not done. So bucket lists can serve as insurance against this potential regret.
A bucket-list quest for adventure, memories and meaning based on a life lived with the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness.
In a study published this week, we talked to 54 people with cancer and 2 of their friends and family. For many people, travel was a major bucket list item.Why is travel so important?
There are many reasons why travel plays such a central role in our idea of a “life well lived”. The trip is often associated with significant life changes, youth gap years, a journey of self-discovery in the 2010 film Eat Pra Love, or the popular figure of the "Grey Nomad".
The importance of travel lies not only in the destination, nor even in the journey itself. For many people, planning a trip is just as important. A cancer diagnosis affects people's sense of control over their future, raising questions about their ability to write their own life story or plan their travel dreams.Mark, a recently retired husband of a woman with cancer, tells us about his stalled travel plans:
We're in that part of our lives right now where we were going to jump in the caravan and do big trips and things like that, and now [our plans are] blocked in the shed.
For others, a cancer diagnosis brought an urgent need to "check things off" on their bucket list. Asha, a woman with breast cancer, told us that she was always motivated to "get things done," but the cancer diagnosis made it even worse: So, I had to do all the traveling, I now have to empty my bucket list. Had to do it, which in a way pushed my partner to the corner.
People's travel dreams ranged from whale watching in Queensland to polar bears in the Arctic and caravanning to skiing in the Nullarbor Plain in Switzerland.
Nadia, who was 38 when we spoke to her, said that traveling with her family created important memories for her and gave her a sense of vitality despite health difficulties.He told us how being diagnosed with cancer gave him the chance to live his life at a younger age instead of waiting for retirement: In the last three years, I think I've lived longer than most people over 80 .
but travel is expensive
Of course, travel is expensive. It's no coincidence that Nicholson's character in The Bucket List is a billionaire. Some of the people we spoke to emptied their savings assuming they no longer needed to provide for elder care or retirement. Will happen. Others used insurance payouts or donations to make their bucket-list dreams come true.
But not everyone can do this. Jim, a 60-year-old man whose wife was diagnosed with cancer, told us:
We actually bought a new car and are talking about getting a new Caravan […] but I have to work.It would be nice to have a little money tree in the back, but that's okay.The items on everyone's bucket list weren't expensive. Some people chose to spend more time with loved ones, take up a new hobby or get a pet.
Our study shows that making a plan to check off items from a list can give people a sense of self-determination and hope for the future. It was a way to assert control in the face of a disease that can make people feel powerless.Asha said:
This disease is not going to overpower me. I'm not going to sit back and do nothing. I want to go on a trip.Something we should 'do'?
Bucket lists are also symptomatic of a broader culture that emphasizes conspicuous consumption and productivity, even late in life.
In fact, people told us that traveling can be tiring, expensive and stressful, especially when they are living with the symptoms and side effects of treatment. Still, they felt that travel was something they "should" do. As our study found, travel can be deeply meaningful.But a life well lived need not be extravagant or adventurous. Finding what is meaningful is a deeply personal journey.(talk) AMS
Since then, the term "bucket list" – a list of experiences or accomplishments that must be completed before you "kick out" or die – has become common.
You can read the article on 100 Australian Bucket-List Travel Experiences listing the seven cities you must visit before you die. But there is also a more serious side to the idea behind the bucket list.A major form of suffering at the end of life is regret for things unsaid or not done. So bucket lists can serve as insurance against this potential regret.
A bucket-list quest for adventure, memories and meaning based on a life lived with the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness.
In a study published this week, we talked to 54 people with cancer and 2 of their friends and family. For many people, travel was a major bucket list item.Why is travel so important?
There are many reasons why travel plays such a central role in our idea of a “life well lived”. The trip is often associated with significant life changes, youth gap years, a journey of self-discovery in the 2010 film Eat Pra Love, or the popular figure of the "Grey Nomad".
The importance of travel lies not only in the destination, nor even in the journey itself. For many people, planning a trip is just as important. A cancer diagnosis affects people's sense of control over their future, raising questions about their ability to write their own life story or plan their travel dreams.Mark, a recently retired husband of a woman with cancer, tells us about his stalled travel plans:
We're in that part of our lives right now where we were going to jump in the caravan and do big trips and things like that, and now [our plans are] blocked in the shed.
For others, a cancer diagnosis brought an urgent need to "check things off" on their bucket list. Asha, a woman with breast cancer, told us that she was always motivated to "get things done," but the cancer diagnosis made it even worse: So, I had to do all the traveling, I now have to empty my bucket list. Had to do it, which in a way pushed my partner to the corner.
People's travel dreams ranged from whale watching in Queensland to polar bears in the Arctic and caravanning to skiing in the Nullarbor Plain in Switzerland.
Nadia, who was 38 when we spoke to her, said that traveling with her family created important memories for her and gave her a sense of vitality despite health difficulties.He told us how being diagnosed with cancer gave him the chance to live his life at a younger age instead of waiting for retirement: In the last three years, I think I've lived longer than most people over 80 .
but travel is expensive
Of course, travel is expensive. It's no coincidence that Nicholson's character in The Bucket List is a billionaire. Some of the people we spoke to emptied their savings assuming they no longer needed to provide for elder care or retirement. Will happen. Others used insurance payouts or donations to make their bucket-list dreams come true.
But not everyone can do this. Jim, a 60-year-old man whose wife was diagnosed with cancer, told us:
We actually bought a new car and are talking about getting a new Caravan […] but I have to work.It would be nice to have a little money tree in the back, but that's okay.The items on everyone's bucket list weren't expensive. Some people chose to spend more time with loved ones, take up a new hobby or get a pet.
Our study shows that making a plan to check off items from a list can give people a sense of self-determination and hope for the future. It was a way to assert control in the face of a disease that can make people feel powerless.Asha said:
This disease is not going to overpower me. I'm not going to sit back and do nothing. I want to go on a trip.Something we should 'do'?
Bucket lists are also symptomatic of a broader culture that emphasizes conspicuous consumption and productivity, even late in life.
In fact, people told us that traveling can be tiring, expensive and stressful, especially when they are living with the symptoms and side effects of treatment. Still, they felt that travel was something they "should" do. As our study found, travel can be deeply meaningful.But a life well lived need not be extravagant or adventurous. Finding what is meaningful is a deeply personal journey.(talk) AMS
