TY - JOUR

T1 - Regaining familiarity with own body after treatment for operable lung cancer

T2 - a qualitative longitudinal exploration

AU - Missel, M.

AU - Pedersen, J. H.

AU - Hendriksen, C.

AU - Tewes, M.

AU - Adamsen, L.

N1 - © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2016/11

Y1 - 2016/11

N2 - Little is known about the experiences of operable lung cancer patients during treatment in a clinical setting based on fast-track surgery. The study aimed to explore (1) the embodied meaning of illness in patients with operable lung cancer during treatment to 4 months after surgery and (2) patterns of change over time that may affect the patients' daily lives. Twenty patients referred for lung cancer surgery were interviewed three times, corresponding to potential critical transition points following surgery: hospitalisation; hospital-to-home transition; and resumption of daily life activities. Data collection, analysis and interpretation followed a phenomenological hermeneutical approach inspired by Ricoeur and the theoretical framework was grounded in Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception. The findings reveal the process patients went through in regaining familiarity with their own body after lung cancer treatment. Through the post-operative trajectory the patients' resumption of daily activities involved adjusting to a new awareness of everyday life, physical restrictions and their perception of themselves. The findings are expressed in four sub-themes: (1) perceptions of embodied alterations; (2) transformation of embodied structures in the transition from hospital to home was unexpectedly challenging; (3) embodied perceptions of the intersubjective world; and (4) transforming embodied disruptions into bodily awareness. Patients experienced a smooth treatment trajectory regarding physical consequences of illness and treatment which might be due to the fast-track surgery. Clinicians should be aware of patients' experiences of illness to facilitate patient reconstitution of own identity.

AB - Little is known about the experiences of operable lung cancer patients during treatment in a clinical setting based on fast-track surgery. The study aimed to explore (1) the embodied meaning of illness in patients with operable lung cancer during treatment to 4 months after surgery and (2) patterns of change over time that may affect the patients' daily lives. Twenty patients referred for lung cancer surgery were interviewed three times, corresponding to potential critical transition points following surgery: hospitalisation; hospital-to-home transition; and resumption of daily life activities. Data collection, analysis and interpretation followed a phenomenological hermeneutical approach inspired by Ricoeur and the theoretical framework was grounded in Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception. The findings reveal the process patients went through in regaining familiarity with their own body after lung cancer treatment. Through the post-operative trajectory the patients' resumption of daily activities involved adjusting to a new awareness of everyday life, physical restrictions and their perception of themselves. The findings are expressed in four sub-themes: (1) perceptions of embodied alterations; (2) transformation of embodied structures in the transition from hospital to home was unexpectedly challenging; (3) embodied perceptions of the intersubjective world; and (4) transforming embodied disruptions into bodily awareness. Patients experienced a smooth treatment trajectory regarding physical consequences of illness and treatment which might be due to the fast-track surgery. Clinicians should be aware of patients' experiences of illness to facilitate patient reconstitution of own identity.

KW - Journal Article

U2 - 10.1111/ecc.12383

DO - 10.1111/ecc.12383

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 26361265

VL - 25

SP - 1076

EP - 1090

JO - European Journal of Cancer Care

JF - European Journal of Cancer Care

SN - 0961-5423

IS - 6

ER -