Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Manitoba, Canada; Department of Clinical Health Psychology, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Canada.
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Manitoba, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Canada.
Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2023 Apr;63:102299. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2023.102299. Epub 2023 Feb 17.
Distress, often manifesting as anxiety, is common in breast cancer patients and becomes particularly elevated before surgery. This study investigated perspectives of those undergoing breast cancer surgery concerning what enhances and reduces distress and anxiety across the perioperative period (i.e., from diagnostic evaluation to recovery).
The present study conducted qualitative semi-structured individual interviews with 15 adult breast cancer surgery patients within three months post-operation. Quantitative surveys provided background information (e.g., sociodemographics). Individual interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively.
Four main themes emerged from qualitative interviews: 1) "fighting an unknown" (sub-themes: uncertainty, health-related knowledge and experience); 2) "the cancer takes away the control" (sub-themes: "living at the whim of others", trusting care providers); 3) person at the centre of the patient (sub-themes: "managing life:" caregiving and work-related stressors, "everybody jumped in to help:" emotional and instrumental support); and 4) physical and emotional impacts of treatment (sub-themes: pain and impacted mobility, "losing a part of yourself"). Breast cancer patients' experiences of surgery-related distress and anxiety were contextualized by broader experiences of care.
Our findings illustrate the illness-specific experience of perioperative anxiety and distress in breast cancer patients and inform patient-centered care and intervention.
在乳腺癌患者中，痛苦（常表现为焦虑）很常见，且在手术前会尤其升高。本研究调查了接受乳腺癌手术的患者对整个围手术期（即从诊断评估到恢复）内哪些因素会增加或减少痛苦和焦虑的看法。
本研究在术后三个月内对 15 名成年乳腺癌手术患者进行了定性半结构化的个体访谈。定量调查提供了背景信息（如社会人口统计学）。采用主题分析对个体访谈进行分析。定量数据采用描述性分析。
定性访谈中出现了四个主要主题：1）“与未知作斗争”（子主题：不确定性、健康相关知识和经验）；2）“癌症夺走了控制”（子主题：“生活在他人的支配下”、信任医护人员）；3）以患者为中心（子主题：“管理生活：”照顾和工作相关压力、“每个人都来帮忙：”情感和实际支持）；4）治疗的身心影响（子主题：疼痛和行动受限、“失去自己的一部分”）。患者手术相关痛苦和焦虑的经历与更广泛的护理经历有关。
我们的研究结果说明了乳腺癌患者围手术期焦虑和痛苦的特定疾病经历，并为以患者为中心的护理和干预提供了信息。
