Tsay Shiow-Luan, Ko Wang-Sheng, Lin Kuan-Pin
1PhD, RN, Professor, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Da-Yeh University 2MD, Minister, Department of Internal Medicine, Kuang Tien General Hospital 3PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, HungKuang University.
J Nurs Res. 2017 Oct;25(5):328-335. doi: 10.1097/JNR.0000000000000178.
Leading a healthy lifestyle not only alleviates the physical problems but also improves the quality of life of cancer survivors. Healthcare professionals should understand the benefits of altering lifestyle behaviors to provide effective intervention programs to assist cancer survivors to improve their health.
The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of cancer survivors in changing their lifestyle after a cancer diagnosis.
A qualitative descriptive study was conducted on 13 cancer survivors who were sampled purposively from a regional teaching hospital in central Taiwan. Data were collected using in-depth interviews that were guided by semistructured, open-ended questions and analyzed using content analysis.
The analysis of interview data revealed four main themes: motivation of lifestyle change, exploring ways toward a healthy lifestyle, making adjustments in lifestyle, and feeling the benefits of lifestyle changes. In striving for survival, an unwillingness to bear the suffering from treatment and their acceptance of responsibility and gratitude to family members prompted most of the participants to change their lifestyle proactively. They had received inadequate lifestyle guidance and sought health lifestyle information on their own. After a period of research and self-contemplation, most of the participants adopted a consistently healthy lifestyle, changed their dietary consumption habits, abstained from tobacco and alcohol, and managed emotional problems that were caused by the disease. Participants who changed to a healthy lifestyle realized benefits in the physical, emotional, and life domains.
CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: It is hoped that these findings help healthcare professionals to better appreciate that a cancer diagnosis is a critical opportunity to link the disease to lifestyle choices in the minds of cancer survivors. Healthcare professionals should ask cancer survivors about their lifestyle and then provide appropriate advice and education on healthy lifestyles and related benefits.
保持健康的生活方式不仅能缓解身体问题，还能提高癌症幸存者的生活质量。医疗保健专业人员应了解改变生活方式行为的益处，以提供有效的干预计划，帮助癌症幸存者改善健康状况。
本研究的目的是了解癌症幸存者在癌症诊断后改变生活方式的经历。
对13名癌症幸存者进行了定性描述性研究，这些幸存者是从台湾中部一家地区教学医院中有意抽样选取的。通过使用由半结构化、开放式问题引导的深入访谈收集数据，并使用内容分析法进行分析。
访谈数据分析揭示了四个主要主题：生活方式改变的动机、探索健康生活方式的途径、调整生活方式以及感受生活方式改变的益处。在为生存而努力的过程中，大多数参与者因不愿承受治疗带来的痛苦以及他们对责任的接受和对家人的感激而主动改变生活方式。他们获得的生活方式指导不足，于是自行寻求健康生活方式的信息。经过一段时间的研究和自我思考，大多数参与者采用了持续健康的生活方式，改变了饮食消费习惯，戒烟戒酒，并处理了由疾病引起的情绪问题。改变为健康生活方式的参与者在身体、情感和生活领域都实现了益处。
结论/对实践的启示：希望这些研究结果能帮助医疗保健专业人员更好地认识到，癌症诊断是在癌症幸存者心中将疾病与生活方式选择联系起来的关键契机。医疗保健专业人员应询问癌症幸存者的生活方式，然后就健康生活方式及其相关益处提供适当的建议和教育。
