Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026
Studying Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Orthotopic Breast Cancer Model
Published on: March 20, 2020
Cancer patients' effort to return to normal life: a hermeneutic study
Marjan Mardani-Hamooleh1, Haydeh Heidari2
1School of Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Nursing, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Background:
The increasing population of patients with cancer highlights the need to develop an understanding of the patients' lived experiences.
Objective:
The purpose of our study was to explore the lived experiences of Iranian patients regarding living with cancer.
Methods:
A hermeneutic phenomenological study was performed. Twelve patients with cancer were interviewed to understand their lived experiences. We employed the seven-stage hermeneutical process of data analysis.
Findings:
One constitutive pattern 'cancer patients' effort to return to normal life' and two associated themes, namely 'pass through limitations and challenges' and 'emotional and informational support seeking', were identified. 'Pass through limitations and challenges' had two subcategories: 'acceptance of reality' and 'resist cultural taboos'. 'Emotional and informational support seeking' also had two subcategories: 'family and friends support' and 'healthcare providers support'.
Conclusion:
The findings present better understanding of the lived experiences of patients with cancer in Iran regarding the phenomena under the study.
Implications For Practice:
Nurses have an obligation to educate patients with cancer about anticipated changes in their life.
Related Concept Videos
02:20Longitudinal Research
02:12What is Cancer?
Although people have known about cancer for centuries, it was only in 1761 that Giovanni Morgagni of Padua performed a detailed autopsy of...
02:49Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
01:17Classification of Illness
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe...
01:27Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...
01:21Cancer Survival Analysis