Experiencing the disease of breast cancer and getting life under control again

Women experiencing breast cancer are confronted with a live threatening disease and find themselves in a situation that changes and restricts their life psychologically, physically and socially. This qualitative investigation examined the experience of living with breast cancer from the perspective of newly diagnosed women. Ten women were interviewed at the end of their radiotherapy. The interviews are analysed with the method of content analysis. The findings show three domains. First domain: From living in fear of having breast cancer to the confirmation of its diagnosis. These women perceive the confirmation of the diagnosis as a shock and initially plunge into an existential crisis. The life threatening disease with an unpredictable future, feelings of vulnerability, uncertainty, hopelessness and anxiety often make them depressed. They need all their energy to maintain control over their life, by suppressing emotions to protect themselves from overwhelming feelings and suffering. Second domain: Experiencing the therapy. The women undergo weakening aggressive and invasive treatment regimes, leaving them in a condition worse than before. Physically exhausted, they sometimes don't know how to go through and overcome this time. Lack of energy, tiredness and fatigue are ongoing problems. Being diagnosed with breast cancer, the suddenly become patients, having to cope with a complex healthcare system. From doctors and nurses they expect empathy, caring and expertise. When in contact with health care, they often hide their suffering, while in fact, they are extremely vulnerable and in deep despair. Third domain: Hold out and live. Women living with breast cancer have no choice but to go through this situation. By motivating their self they regain and mobilise their vital energy. They try to suppress their suffering and dark, intrusive memories. Support from relatives is very important, however, such women tend to protect them from their suffering. The definition of the role of these relatives and their suffering remain unclear. In a future study, research is needed to determine precisely which psychosocial variables are effective in promoting greater health for women with breast cancer and their families, taking into consideration the dynamic of the relationship between women with breast cancer and their relatives as well as the influence of their mutual support.     

乳腺癌术后患者身体意象和性调节现状及影响因素分析

目的了解乳腺癌术后患者身体意象及性调节现状,分析其影响因素。方法采用便利抽样法,选取潍坊市某三级甲等医院乳腺外科2019年11月—2020年8月住院的200例乳腺癌术后患者作为研究对象,采用一般资料调查表、中文版乳腺癌患者性调节和身体意象量表、医学应对方式问卷及疾病感知问卷进行调查。采用多元线性回归分析乳腺癌术后患者身体意象及性调节影响因素。结果乳腺癌术后患者身体意象及性调节得分为(38.56±6.04)分;多元线性回归分析显示,家庭人均月收入(元)、手术方式、认知、屈服型应对方式进入回归方程(P<0.05),共解释总变异的36.5%。结论乳腺癌术后患者身体意象及性调节处于中等水平,应对方式、疾病感知与身体意象及性调节密切相关。护理人员应鼓励患者采取积极的应对方式,帮助患者正确认识疾病的预后,以提高乳腺癌术后患者身体意象及性调节水平,改善其生活质量。     

乳腺癌患者女性一级亲属照顾者真实体验质性研究

目的 探讨乳腺癌患者女性一级亲属在照顾乳腺癌患者过程中的真实体验,为该群体提供针对性支持和构建干预方案提供参考依据。方法 采用描述性质性研究方法,对16例乳腺癌患者女性一级亲属照顾者进行半结构式深入访谈,采用内容分析法分析资料。结果 本组对象的照顾体验可归纳为4个主题：情绪体验（负性情绪体验,正性情绪体验）,对自身及子女的风险认知（感知到自身风险、关注下一代健康）,健康相关行为（积极行为、消极行为）,意志力（直面挑战、忽视与逃避）。结论 乳腺癌患者女性一级亲属在照顾体验中,经历对亲属的负性、正性情绪;表现出对自身及子女患病风险的担忧,并转化为积极获益的健康管理认知和行为;在意志力方面表现为面对或退缩等。     

Thoughts and feelings of in-patients with advanced terminal cancer: implications for terminal care improvement

The purpose of this study was to clarify how terminally ill patients think and feel while hospitalized, thereby providing some insight into improving the quality of terminal care. The subjects of the study were eight terminally ill patients with cancer. The researchers obtained the patients' consent and their doctors' permission prior to conducting the interviews. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The patients' thoughts and feelings were extracted and then categorized according to particular themes. As a result, we came up with four major categories: maintaining pain control, living an ordinary life, hoping for improvement of physical condition, and having family nearby. The desire to live life to its fullest given their situation, as well as to maintain a hopeful attitude about their future proved very important. The presence of family also played a crucial role. These factors must be taken into consideration in achieving better care for terminally ill patients.     

Distress of inpatients with terminal cancer in Japanese palliative care units: from the viewpoint of spirituality

A qualitative study was conducted in an attempt to improve our understanding of the spiritual distress of terminally ill cancer patients in Japan. The subjects were inpatients at four approved palliative care units in Japan. The patients were interviewed and they expressed their own experiences in which spirituality was considered to be identifiable. Literal records of the interviews were analyzed using constant comparative analyses as proposed in relation to the grounded theory approach. The analysis included 11 inpatients and a variety of expressions of distress were obtained. After the conditions of the subjects were evaluated in order to search for common factors related to distress, consciousness of the gap between the patient's aspirations and the present situation were found to cause gap-induced distress. Distress was classified into three categories: distress due to the gap between the present situation and how the individual wanted to live, how the individual wished to die, and the individual's wish to maintain relations with others. The aspirations causing the gap were then interpreted from the viewpoint of spirituality as "anchors in life" for Japanese patients with terminal cancer. It was also revealed that in patients who possessed pictures of how they wished to die as their "anchors in life" and who were in a severe physical condition, distress increased and they became confused after their physical symptoms were relieved following admission to PCU.     

年轻乳腺癌患者生存质量与社会支持的相关性研究

目的探讨年轻乳腺癌患者生存质量与社会支持的相关性。方法对100例年轻乳腺癌患者在术后3个月随访时，采用生存质量评定量表和社会支持评定量表进行调查，分析其相关性。结果年轻乳腺癌患者的生存质量较差，但能获得较高的社会支持。相关性分析显示，年轻乳腺癌患者生存质量与社会支持呈正相关。结论年轻乳腺癌患者的生存质量与社会支持密切相关，护士应重视并有效利用患者的社会支持，提高患者的生存质量。     

Living with newly diagnosed breast cancer: a qualitative study of 10 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer

AIM: The aim of this qualitative study was to describe from the perspective of 10 women (aged 39-69 years), their experience of living with breast cancer. BACKGROUND: Although there is increasing research into a variety of aspects associated with breast cancer, there is a continuing need for research to increase nurses' understanding of how women experience living with newly diagnosed breast cancer. DESIGN/METHODS: Following ethical approval, open-ended interviews were analysed, using methods influenced by Grounded Theory. Verifiability and empirical grounding of the theory was established through use of the constant comparative method. FINDINGS: Existential issues arose as an important aspect of living with newly diagnosed breast cancer. The will to live emerged as the central theme. All energy was channelled into a tenacious fight for life. Furthermore, results revealed other aspects in the women's awareness of living with breast cancer, such as their experiences in relation to emotional reactions, bodily physical changes, their female identity, meaningful activities and their social network. CONCLUSIONS: An understanding of how women experience their new and changed life situation is important to the support nurses give in the process of healing. Nurses need this knowledge to be better able to assist women and their families in their development of coping strategies.     

The experience of waiting and life during breast cancer follow-up

Much research exists on quality of life issues with breast cancer survivors. However, there has been little done on the waiting experience itself, and on the experience of follow-up from the women's perspective. Women who have been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer live with the condition for a minimum of 5 years, waiting for the next medical intervention; waiting for the next battery of tests; waiting for the next physician check-up. Throughout most of these years they may feel healthy, but they experience visits to cancer clinics, medical testing, and physician interactions. Women's accounts of their experiences of waiting and life during follow-up for breast cancer has not been the focus of research on the quality of life of breast cancer survivors. In particular research that uses a qualitative approach, in which women recount their experiences in their own language, has been missing. This study used a phenomenological approach, telling the stories of waiting and life throughout follow-up of nine women. The women's experiences are captured in four themes: life-changing; a sense of belonging; uncertainty; needing to know.     

The benefits of prayer on mood and well-being of breast cancer survivors

OBJECTIVES: Prayer is becoming more widely acknowledged as a way to cope with cancer. The goal of this study was to compare differences in use of prayer between breast cancer survivors from different ethnic groups and examine how use of prayer is related to mood and quality of life. METHODS: This study used a mixed methods design. One hundred and seventy-five breast cancer survivors participated in a longitudinal study of survivorship. Women completed in-depth qualitative interviews and a battery of measures including quality of life, spirituality, social support, and mood. RESULTS: Eighty-one percent of the women prayed. There were no significant differences between the groups for any of the psychological, social support, or quality of life variables with the exception of higher benefit finding and spiritual well-being among those who prayed. The data did show that women who prayed were able to find more positive contributions from their cancer experience than women who did not pray. The interviews showed that those who prayed tended to be African American or Asian, Catholic or Protestant. The prayers were for petitioning, comfort, or praise. Some of the women stated that they had difficulty praying for themselves. CONCLUSIONS: While there seems to be few differences in terms of standardized measures of quality of life, social support, and mood between those who prayed and those who did not, the interviews showed that certain ethnic minority groups seem to find more comfort in prayer, felt closer to God, and felt more compassion and forgiveness than Caucasian women.     

Everyday life for the spouses of patients with untreated OSA syndrome

The aim of this study was to generate a theoretical model describing concerns for spouses of patients with untreated obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) and how they manage these concerns in their everyday life. Twelve spouses were interviewed about their experiences and how they manage everyday life. The interviews were analysed according to the Grounded Theory method as described by Strauss and Corbin. Two main categories emerged from the data: 'Social adjustment' and 'New feelings'. 'Social adjustment' reveals how the spouses made adjustments in their daily lives, both according to their partners' tiredness and owing to their own fatigue. 'New feelings' reveals emotional reactions related to the effects of their partner's illness and the impact it had on the spouse's everyday life. These two main categories could be seen in relation to four dimensions describing how the spouses manage their everyday life: 'Sacrificing', 'Controlling', 'Changing' and 'Understanding'. The results show how the spouses made adjustments in everyday life and how their feelings were affected by their partner's OSAS. Healthcare personnel could use information from this study to gain a deeper understanding and knowledge of what spouses of untreated patients with OSAS experience as their main concerns and how they manage their everyday life. This knowledge can be used to improve the support to the spouses, as well as in the educational situation concerning the illness, as well as the treatment.     

Searching for meaning: narratives and analysis of US-resident Chinese immigrants with metastatic cancer

The purpose of this study was to explore how US-resident Chinese immigrants with metastatic cancer search for meaning at the end of their lives. Data were gathered by a topical life history method, using life story, and in-depth interviews. A narrative analysis of 12 participant interviews revealed 6 themes: suffering and impending death, compassion and love, joy and value, hope and faith, readjustment and transcendence, and empowerment and peaceful dying. Although participants simultaneously faced suffering, they searched for meaning in their lives. Participants experienced compassion and love from religious practices and the caring and support of family and others. They experienced joy and value by feeling satisfied with their quality of life, having good relationships with family and friends, practicing religion, appreciating the present moment, and keeping everyday life normal. Participants built hope and faith by continuing to live, believing in a possible cure, having religious beliefs, and receiving encouragement from family and others. They readjusted and transcended suffering by accepting the unexpected in life, looking for positive impacts of having cancer, and developing a positive attitude toward living with cancer. They felt empowered and prepared to die peacefully by maintaining good symptom control, remaining independent, and finding peace of mind.     

Living with newly diagnosed breast cancer--the meaning of existential issues. A qualitative study of 10 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, based on grounded theory.

This study aimed to describe how 10 Norwegian women diagnosed with breast cancer experienced living with the disease. A qualitative method was used, including open-ended in-depth interviews based on principles in Grounded Theory. Data revealed that existential awareness was a central phenomenon in the women's experience. This central finding created the basis for the core category in data: the will to live. This core category includes existential aspects such as different levels of life expectations, the fight against death, life related to the future, religious beliefs and doubts, and increased awareness of values in life. Knowledge and an understanding of how women experience being diagnosed with cancer are prerequisites for supporting the women in a process of normalization. This study has shown that the existential aspects connected with the core category, the will to live, are a central issue in recovery and survival. The study suggests that health professionals, by increasing their awareness of existential aspects connected with the will to live, can assist women and their families in developing coping strategies.     

Transforming hope: how elderly palliative patients live with hope.

Hope is important to palliative patients; however, the process by which these patients live with hope is unknown. The purpose of this study was to describe, using a grounded theory approach, the processes by which palliative patients live with hope. Sixteen interviews were conducted with 10 home-care palliative patients (mean age 75 years) in their homes using open-ended questions.The participants defined their hope as expectations such as not suffering more and having a peaceful death.They described their main concern as wanting to "live with hope" and they achieved this through the basic social process of transforming hope. Transforming hope involved acknowledging "life the way it is," searching for meaning, and positive reappraisal. The results of this study provide a foundation for future research and the development of interventions to engender hope in older palliative patients.     

男性乳腺癌患者患病体验质性研究的Meta整合

目的 系统评价男性乳腺癌患者患病的真实体验,了解其内心真实感受和需求,为更好地开展男性乳腺癌患者的临床医疗工作提供证据.方法 计算机检索Cochrane Library,PubMed、Web of Science、EBSCO、EMbase、中国知网、万方数据库、中国生物医学文献数据库、维普数据库和Airiti Libr...     

Life after breast cancer: Australian women's stories of support

Quality support is crucial to the care of women diagnosed with breast cancer. Little qualitative research has been conducted in this area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six women in New South Wales, Australia, to explore their experiences of breast cancer. Specifically the study focused on the support the women felt they needed at different times during their illness experience, how this was given and by whom. The qualitative data from the interviews supported previous research in that the diagnosis of breast cancer was devastating. Their primary source of support was family and friends with their surgeon and general practitioner providing some support. Overall the women felt they received physical support. However, emotional support was lacking, especially from nurses.     

乳腺癌患者生命质量研究

目的：评价乳腺癌患者的生命质量。方法：采用NHP量表（Nottingham Health Profile,NHP),对60例恶性肿瘤患者的生命质量进行评价研究。结果：乳腺癌患者生命质量普遍下降,尤其在精力、睡眠、情感反应和社会隔离方面较为突出。社会因素、医学因素以及患者对肿瘤的态度和对自己的健康自评等对生命质量均有显著影响。结论：对乳腺癌患者应给予必要的健康教育及心理治疗,以提高患者的生命质量。     

Coping with breast cancer in newly diagnosed Iranian women

AIM: This paper reports a study exploring how Iranian women coped with newly diagnosed breast cancer and provides a foundation for cultural-based care. BACKGROUND: Although research has indicated that coping strategies are associated with adaptation to breast cancer, and despite the number of women with newly diagnosed breast cancer increasing each year, there is no information on how Iranian women cope with breast cancer when compared with women of other cultures. METHOD: In this qualitative study, 19 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer were interviewed during the period May-September 2004 about coping with their disease. Interviews were analysed using a content analysis method. FINDINGS: The main themes emerging from this qualitative study included coping using a religious approach (acceptance of disease as God's will; spiritual fighting), thinking about the disease (positive thinking: positive suggestion, hope, intentional forgetfulness; negative thinking: hopelessness, fear, impaired body image), accepting the fact of the disease (active acceptance; passive acceptance), social and cultural factors and finally finding support from significant others. CONCLUSION: Understanding how Iranian women cope with diagnosis of breast cancer is important to nurses involved in the process of healing. The majority of strategies used by Iranian women were positive, and religious faith played a major role in this. The findings of the study can be used to design a nursing approach to improve successful coping in Iranian women suffering from breast cancer, and can provide nurses and other healthcare professionals with deeper understanding of these women as they face this diagnosis.     

癌症患者照顾者心理体验质性研究的Meta整合

目的:系统总结癌症患者照顾者的心理体验,全面了解其内心需求,为更好地开展临床医疗工作提供依据。方法:计算机检索CNKI、万方数据库、维普网、EMBASE、PubMed、BMJ Journals、CINAHL、Cochrane Library、ProQuest等数据库,搜集有关癌症患者照顾者心理体验的质性研究,检索时限为...     

乳腺癌患者乳房重建真实体验的Meta整合

目的系统评价并整合乳腺癌患者经历即刻或延期乳房重建术真实体验的质性研究。了解患者在经历乳房重建术整个过程中的感受,为合理开展乳房重建术的护理工作提供指导。方法检索中国知网、万方、维普、中国生物医学文献数据库、PubMed、Embase、The Cochrane Library、Medline、CINAHL数据库,检索时间为建库至2019年2月28日。采用2017版澳大利亚循证卫生保健中心质性研究质量评价标准对文献进行方法学评价,并采用汇集性整合法,整合与分析乳腺癌患者经历乳房重建真实感受的主题。结果共纳入10篇文献,其中中文2篇,英文8篇。将研究结果归纳汇总后,得出84个结果,分析整合后合并为15个新类别,再综合成4个整合结果:医疗知识缺乏和决策迷茫、围术期身心俱疲、术后满意度较高、术后生活质量有待提高。结论在乳房切除的同时或延期行乳房重建手术,可以获得良好的美容效果,改善患者的生活质量。临床护理工作者应关注患者在经历乳房重建术整个过程中的感受,了解患者的真实体验和需求,并及时、有针对性地为患者提供帮助,提升乳房重建术后患者的生活质量。     

青年乳腺癌患者负性情绪与自我接纳、生存质量的相关性分析

目的 调查青年乳腺癌患者的负性情绪,分析负性情绪与自我接纳、生活质量的相关性.方法 选取衡阳市4所三甲医院肿瘤科的青年乳腺癌患者219例,采用一般资料调查问卷、焦虑自评量表(SAS)、抑郁自评量表(SDS)、自我接纳问卷(SAQ)、乳腺癌患者生活质量测定量表(FACT-B)进行调查.结果 青年乳腺癌患者的SAS、SDS...