Coping with radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a qualitative exploration
Engelsk titel: Coping with radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a qualitative exploration
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Författare:
Skov Andersen, Kristine
;
Jarden, Mary
Email: fqd179@alumni.ku.dk
Språk: Eng
Antal referenser: 17
Dokumenttyp:
Artikel
UI-nummer: 12073303
Sammanfattning
Background: Patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer (HNC) often require radiotherapy and experience numerous treatment-related side effects. The most challenging period during the course of treatment is at the end of radiotherapy and the weeks that follow.
Aim: The aim of this study is to explore how patients with HNC cope with radiotherapy and side effects.
Method: Five patients with HNC were interviewed within one month after completing radiotherapy treatment. The semi-structured interviews were analysed according to hermeneutic method and subsequently related to coping theory as described by Lazarus.
Findings: The patients cope with radiotherapy treatment and their side effects through the acts described in five main themes: Flying away, Recruiting help, Finding my place, Cognitive control and Physical control. The main themes contain two subthemes, which according to their properties are labelled as Facilitating and Impeding. Furthermore, the main themes connote emotion-focused and/or problem-focused coping strategies.
Conclusion: Flying away, Recruiting help and Finding my place appeared with both facilitating and impeding qualities, whereas Cognitive Control and Physical Control only facilitated coping with treatment and side effects and had no impeding properties. Furthermore, ‘Flying away’ facilitated coping with treatment when controlled. Both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping have facilitating as well as impeding properties. Potential interventions could enhance the facilitating qualities of a strategy by increasing the individual's awareness of available coping strategies and possibilities of exercising control.