Based on the results of a qualitative research conducted in France on the subject of mental well-being in a cancer department, this paper examines how caregivers call on profane and scientific representations and lexical fields in their every day professional life. In addition to the original point of view it brings on health professionals, this paper seeks to clarify the foundations of these practices : that is, to say the relative permeability between scientific representations, cultural beliefs, professional ideologies and individual convictions. To enrich the concepts of « clinical narrative » and « political economy of hope », the authors call for the development of anthropological research focused on the caregivers coping strategies, especially when they have to deal with uncertainty or end of life settings.