The experience of a diagnosis of advanced lung cancer: sleep is not a priority when living my life.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe common practices and shared meanings of sleep-wake disturbances in individuals with newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) before treatment and evaluate their preexisting sleep disturbances.

RESEARCH APPROACH

Open-ended interviews of patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer.

SETTING

A Veterans Administration hospital and a comprehensive cancer center in the northeastern United States.

PARTICIPANTS

26 patients newly diagnosed with NSCLC who chose chemotherapy treatment.

METHODOLOGIC APPROACH

Interpretive phenomenology based on Heideggarian hermeneutics.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES

Meaning of diagnosis on life experiences and sleep practices.

FINDINGS

Participants described four related themes: (a) the diagnosis as devastating yet not surprising, (b) treatment as hope for more time, (c) keeping life normal, and (d) sleep patterns as long lived.

CONCLUSIONS

Although participants did not complain about sleep difficulties, they described a history of sleep disturbances and poor sleep hygiene. Participants focused their trust on the treatment, giving them more time to follow their priorities and ignoring the effects of sleep deprivation on their quality of life.

INTERPRETATION

Healthcare professionals may design interventions to encourage keeping life as normal as possible, focusing on improving sleep, which may ultimately prolong patients' lives.