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'Only to reconcile with it'. The coping experience amongst middle-aged and older cancer survivors: A qualitative
1Department of Cancer Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Background:
Cancer threat is relevant to age, and the threat of a foreshortened life coupled with a lengthy treatment process negatively affects middle-aged and older adults. Understanding the coping throughout the cancer experience in middle-aged and older cancer survivors will help develop supportive care to promote their physiological and psychological coping effects.
Objectives:
To explore the cancer coping experiences of middle-aged adults aged 40-59 and older adults over 60.
Design:
A descriptive phenomenological study was employed.
Methods:
Face-to-face, in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 22 oncology patients in a tertiary university hospital aged 40 or above from August to October 2023. The interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis procedures.
Results:
Five themes and 13 subthemes were formed through analysis: acceptance of cancer (considering cancer as chronic, believing in fate and attributing cancer to karma); having different information needs (desired to be truthfully informed, information-seeking behaviour, information avoidance behaviour); getting families involved (developing dependent behaviours, feeling emotional support, family members suffering worse); striving to maintain positive psychological state (positive thinking, seeking peer support) and negative experience (undesirable, low self-esteem).
Conclusion:
Our study reveals that cancer survivors' attitudes towards having cancer have changed from a death sentence to a more positive perception of a chronic disease. Supportive programmes for developing coping strategies should consider the cultural traditions and religious beliefs, different information needs, involvement of family and promoting a positive psychological state while avoiding negative factors.
Patient Or Public Contribution:
Participants with experience of coping with cancer were involved in the semistructured interview.
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