| 1. |
- Arman, M., et al.
(författare)
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Women's Perceptions and Beliefs About the Genesis of Their Breast Cancer
- 2006
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 29:2, s. 142-148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A person's belief is seen as a set of assumptions, depending on perceptions, and formed with the influence of experiences and social culture. With the aim of understanding the beliefs about the genesis of their illness, 118 (59 + 59) women with different stages of breast cancer were interviewed. Half of the sample had chosen complementary care in an anthroposophical hospital, and the other half was a matched group. Qualitative content analysis was used. Three themes emerged: (1) belief in a link to life lived (71%), (2) heredity as the sole genesis (4%), and (3) rejection of the question (25%). Under beliefs in a link to life lived, external aspects to the patient's own life (eg, diet and lifestyle) were cited, as well as inner aspects such as psychosocial problems and stress. The findings show that women are well informed about medical facts, although their beliefs reveal a holistic approach. The women's beliefs, where inner psychosocial factors are uppermost, point to a reverse of the causal ranking of medical advisors. The difference between the groups was that the matching sample was more likely to reject the influence of possible causes from life lived. In a caring perspective, women's perceptions of the genesis of their illness are in some cases turned to creative health activities that may increase well-being.
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| 2. |
- Arving, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Individual psychosocial support for breast cancer patients : A randomized study of nurse vs. psychologist interventions and standard care
- 2007
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 30:3, s. E10-E19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a prospective, randomized study, an individual psychosocial support intervention performed by specially trained oncology nurses, or psychologists, were compared with standard care. Consecutive primary breast cancer patients about to start adjuvant therapy (n = 179) were included. Data were supplied by the questionnaires European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Study Group Core Quality of life questionnaire with 30 questions (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Breast Cancer Module with 23 questions (BR23), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Impact of Event Scale before randomization and 1, 3, and 6 months later. Patient files provided data on utilization of psychosocial support offered in routine care. Global quality of life/health status, nausea and vomiting, and systemic therapy side effects were the subscales showing significant Group by Time interactions, favoring the interventions. Intervention groups improved statistically significantly more than the standard care group regarding insomnia, dyspnea, and financial difficulties. Nurse patients experienced less intrusion compared with the standard care group. All groups showed statistically and clinically significant improvements with time on several subscales. The intervention groups, however, improved to a greater extent. Fewer patients in the intervention groups used psychosocial hospital support compared with the standard care group. In conclusion, psychosocial support by specially trained nurses using techniques derived from cognitive behavioral therapy is beneficial for breast cancer patients and may be a realistic alternative in routine cancer care.
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| 3. |
- Berterö, Carina, et al.
(författare)
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Breast cancer diagnosis and its treatment affecting the self : A meta-synthesis
- 2007
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 30:3, s. 194-202
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There has been a great deal of qualitative research conducted that has examined the impact of breast cancer on the Self, however, there has been little effort to analyze these findings from a meta-perspective. This study sought to fill this gap by conducting a meta-synthesis of the qualitative research on breast cancer and its treatments affecting the Self. Meta-method and meta-synthesis techniques were used to integrate findings across 30 qualitative research reports conducted between 1990 and 2003 with a total of 795 women, from several different countries.The fusions identified from this meta-synthesis revealed 4 aspects of the Self affected by the diagnosis of breast cancer and its treatment: awareness of their own mortality, living with an uncertain certainty, attachment validation, and redefinition of Self. These findings were validated through use of a comparison study. The women adapt to being a breast cancer patient, redefining their lives and their self. This study highlights the existential process that women of many cultures move through as they incorporate the meaning of breast cancer into their lives. Nurses who are aware of these processes are better able to link women with resources to help them in their adaptation to living with breast cancer. © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
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| 4. |
- Browall, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Postmenopausal women with breast cancer : Their experiences of the chemotherapy treatment period
- 2006
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 29:1, s. 34-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article illustrates the experience of 20 postmenopausal women with breast cancer who had received chemotherapy treatment. The interviews were of narrative nature and analyzed with content analysis. Four themes, including 12 subthemes, described these women's life during treatment as a journey from the negative experiences of fear of the unknown, affects on body and mind, to the more positive to get by, and a transformed life. The treatment was compared with an assault on the body, and the loss of their hair was experienced more negatively than the loss of a breast. The women described a feeling of imbalance in their relationships due to lack of support from those close to them. The support from healthcare professionals was experienced both positively and negatively, and many of the women revealed variation in the professional's attitude, knowledge, and empathy. The women who chose not to work during the treatment felt pressure from society and healthcare professionals to get back to work as soon as possible. For many, especially those in a leading position, this was experienced as very difficult. The women expressed a feeling of not being afraid of dying but wanted more time to prepare themselves.
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| 5. |
- da Costa vargens, Octavio, et al.
(författare)
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Living with breast cancer : Its effect on the life situation and the close relationship of women in Brazil
- 2007
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 30:6, s. 471-478
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer induces adverse effects. In this interpretive phenomenological study, 11 Brazilian women diagnosed and treated for breast cancer were interviewed. Data included audiotaped interviews where the women's lived experiences were articulated. Data were interpreted through Heidegger's existential phenomenology. Themes that were found were interrelated and presented the essential structure of the essence the women were living-living side by side with the phantom of death. The 4 themes that were interpreted and identified were as follows: gaining a positive attitude for life, wanting to be recognized as a woman with certain needs, considering body image/self-image, and making efforts to hide. The findings of the study point out the importance of the fact that illness elicits more than fitting the body into traditional community expectations or surrendering the body to professional medicine. Even with all the deep changes in their lives and changed life priorities, the women want to carry on and live the best life they could. To put this idea in the front line makes the difference for the transition of these women. © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
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| 6. |
- Edvardsson, Tanja, et al.
(författare)
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Experiences of onset and diagnosis of low-grade glioma from the patient's perspective.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 29:5, s. 415-422
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to describe adult patients' experiences of falling ill and being diagnosed with low-grade glioma. Information concerning such experiences is lacking in the literature. The study population were adults identified within a well-defined population. Interviews were conducted with 27 patients. The interview texts were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Illness onset was described as a sequence of events. Nineteen patients narrated rapid onset and 8 patients prolonged onset. The most commonly described symptoms in both types of onset were headache, epileptic seizures, vomiting, and vision changes. Racing thoughts, depression, and tinnitus were 3 of the more uncommon symptoms. The most prominent negative experiences regarding healthcare included disrespectful encounters and a lack of opportunity for participation. The salient negative life-situation consequences included a lack of social support and attitudes expressing a lack of understanding. However, to some extent, positive experiences also emerged in the interviews concerning healthcare and life situation despite the onset of the illness. In conclusion, most of the patients in the study experienced the illness onset as stressful. Healthcare staff need particular knowledge to understand the vulnerability of the patient in the onset of low-grade glioma.
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| 7. |
- Ekwall, Eva, 1950-, et al.
(författare)
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Recurrence of ovarian cancer : living in limbo
- 2007
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - Philadelphia : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 30:4, s. 270-277
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Few studies have shed light on women's life situation after being informed of having recurrent ovanan cancer, The present study aimed to elucidate women's experiences of living with this knowledge. interviews were conducted with 12 women who were undergoing or had just completed chemotherapy, 5 to 10 months after learning or the recurrence. Data were collected and analyzed based on a life world perspective using a descriptive phenomenoiogical method. The women's experiences are described via 3 key constituents: being denied one's future while simultaneously hoping to be ble to delay the cancer's advancement, feeling alienated from both oneself and one's surroundings, and being responsible. The key constituents were integrated into the structure "living in limbo." The women lived on the threshoid to the unknown. They were preparing themselves both for a continued life and for death. "Living in limbo" can be described as a phase of a health-illness transition characterized by loneliness. The vulnerable position and existential struggle of these women should be focused upon in nursing. The sensitive dialogue is essential in these cases.
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| 8. |
- Elmberger, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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Being a mother with cancer : achieving a sense of balance in the transition process
- 2008
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 31:1, s. 58-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For women with cancer and with children living at home, the demands of being a good mother while undergoing treatments and recovering from illness have been described as a difficult life process. The aim of this study was to further examine the transition process with focus on women's experience of their responsibility toward their children. Interviews from 2 previous studies investigating the transition process of women with cancer were gathered and were subjected to a qualitative secondary analysis, an analytic expansion of the transition process. The 3 phases in the transition process were used in an interpretive description: ending an earlier life situation, in-between, and new beginning. A main theme that integrated these phases was constructed: "the desire to manage ones responsibility as a parent," within the context of mothering. The women expressed moral concern about not being able to function as "good" mothers yet attempted to find a balance between experiences of exhaustion and other experiences that made it difficult to maintain their responsibility as parents. All of the women included in this study expressed the need for professional support to help them endure treatment procedures as well as to sustain their moral responsibility as good mothers.
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| 9. |
- Fransson, Per
(författare)
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Quality of life for members of Swedish Prostate Cancer Patient Associations
- 2008
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 31:1, s. 23-31
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prostate Cancer Patient Associations (PCPAs) have become common. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of patients belonging to PCPAs. Members of 10 PCPAs in Sweden with prostate cancer completed 2 quality of life questionnaires (Quality-of-Life Questionnaire [QLQ-C30] and Prostate Cancer Symptom Scale). Of 2,028 members, 1,301 (64%) responded to the survey. Sixty percent of the members felt "healthy," and 38% were "free from the cancer." Ninety-five percent scored >80 on the physical function scale compared with 44% on the overall quality of life/health scale. The most severe symptom was sleeping disturbances (mean = 29). Seventeen percent scored "Quite a bit/Much" tiredness. More than 50% did not report any bladder or bowel problems. Fifty percent had "Much" sexual problems, and almost 80% did not have sufficient erection. Those reported as being "disease free" scored higher on the functioning scales than those with "metastatic disease." Those with an experience of a "metastatic disease" had more symptoms than those with less advanced disease. This is the first descriptive study of quality of life in members of Swedish PCPAs with prostate cancer. These findings show that it is possible to gain valid data to further study the situation of patients living with prostate cancer by collecting data from PCPAs.
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| 10. |
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