Aim: Studies on group interventions that deal with social relations in cancer patients have shown that such interventions could increase patients’ social support and help build social support networks. Therefore, group interventions are expected to have beneficial effects on cancer patients’ social relations. However, previous studies have examined only certain social relations. In addition, the results of group intervention studies covering loneliness in cancer patients, which arises from cognitive discrepancy of social relations, have little consistency, possibly because of cultural differences. Against this background, this study extracted factors that contribute to changes in the social relations of Japanese cancer patients after being affected with cancer and after taking part in a group intervention, and explored the potential of group interventions as a means of improving social relations in this population.

Method: Four cancer patients (mean age = 63.3; SD = 11.8) who participated in group therapy were interviewed. Participants were asked about changes in their social relations after being affected with cancer and after taking part in group therapy.

Result: After analyzing the findings, the researchers identified seven elements related to changes in social relations after experiencing cancer: cognitive changes, decreased network size, decreased social support, reversal of receipt and provision of social support, disruption due to excess social support, absence of support network size, and absence and decreasing quantity of companionship. Following that, six elements were identified about changes in social relations after taking part in group therapy: increased network size, receipt of social support, provision of social support, companionship, cognitive changes, and interactions with facilitators and medical staff.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that participation in group therapy leads to the perception that one’s social relations have changed in several ways. In particular, participants felt companionship that they lose after being affected with cancer, which have not been referred.