The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Faculty of Graduate Studies, Oranim Academic College of Education, Kiryat Tivon, Israel.
Palliat Support Care. 2024 Jun;22(3):563-570. doi: 10.1017/S1478951522000785.
Cervical cancer affects survivors' overall coping. Yet, specifically emotional and behavioral expression patterns among cervical cancer survivors have barely been examined. In addition, no study has focused on survivors' experiences of sequences related to coping. Understanding these perceptions can help provide a tailored response and improve psycho-social interventions. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the emotional and behavioral motives involved in coping with cervical cancer recovery.
Qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 survivors of cervical cancer (stages I and II), using a semi-structured in-depth questionnaire. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by three researchers using thematic analysis.
Six main themes emerged: (i) Reasons and benefits for keeping the disease a secret or sharing it with others; (ii) "When you get used to despair, there's also room for hope": Despair alongside hope; (iii) Self-guilt following the disease, but also knowing how to forgive yourself; (iv) Deep loneliness alongside a significant need for support; (v) Finding the way from passivity to activity; and (vi) When meaning in life is missing, and the importance of meaning when it is present. There was a balance between negative emotions and behaviors (despair, confidentiality, guilt, loneliness, passivity, lack of meaning) and positive emotions and behaviors (hope, openness, forgiveness, significant support, activity, meaning).
The study revealed that in some cases cervical cancer coping during the recovery period moves across sequences. The women's narratives portray past difficulties as the reason for present psychological health, and their experience of a healthy present is intensified by their past difficulties. Implications for practice are discussed.
宫颈癌影响了幸存者的整体应对能力。然而，宫颈癌幸存者的情绪和行为表达模式几乎没有被研究过。此外，没有研究关注过与应对相关的幸存者的经历序列。了解这些认知可以帮助提供有针对性的反应，并改善心理社会干预。本研究的目的是更好地理解与宫颈癌康复应对相关的情绪和行为动机。
采用半结构式深度问卷对 15 名宫颈癌（I 期和 II 期）幸存者进行了定性访谈。访谈由 3 位研究人员使用主题分析进行记录、转录和分析。
出现了 6 个主要主题：（i）对将疾病保密或与他人分享的原因和好处；（ii）“当你习惯了绝望，也有希望的空间”：绝望与希望并存；（iii）患病后的自我内疚，但也知道如何原谅自己；（iv）深深的孤独伴随着对支持的巨大需求；（v）从被动到主动找到出路；以及（vi）当生命的意义缺失时，以及有意义的重要性。消极情绪和行为（绝望、保密、内疚、孤独、被动、缺乏意义）与积极情绪和行为（希望、开放、原谅、重要支持、活动、意义）之间存在平衡。
研究表明，在某些情况下，宫颈癌在恢复期的应对会跨越序列。女性的叙述将过去的困难描绘成现在心理健康的原因，而她们对健康现状的体验因过去的困难而更加深刻。讨论了实践的影响。
