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Qualitative
Patients with cancer often felt a need to conceal their distress to protect family, friends, and doctors

https://doi.org/10.1136/ebn.6.3.95

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    Byrne A, Ellershaw J, Holcombe C, et al.Patients’ experience of cancer: evidence of the role of ‘fighting’ in collusive clinical communication.Patient Educ Couns2002;48:15–21OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science

    QUESTION: How do patients respond to having cancer?

    Design

    Qualitative study.

    Setting

    Hospital clinics and a day care at an associated hospice in the UK.

    Participants

    30 patients who were 37–88 years of age (median age 55 y, 60% women, 100% white). Patients had cancer of the breast (n=11), lung (n=4), bowel/anus (n=6), larynx/tonsil/neck (n=3), cervix (n=2), kidney/liver (n=2), and prostate (n=1). 1 patient had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The time since treatment was ≤7 days for 4 patients, <1 year for 14 patients, and 1–19 years for 12 patients. 14 patients received curative treatment and 16 palliative treatment.

    Methods

    Patients were individually interviewed for 30–180 minutes (mean 65 min) about their experience of cancer. Open questions, prompts, and reflection were used to help patients describe personal changes and their experiences of others. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. An inductive thematic analysis was done.

    Main findings

    (1) …

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    Footnotes

    • Source of funding: no external funding.

    • For correspondence: Dr P Salmon, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. psalmon{at}liv.ac.uk