Receiving a diagnosis of inoperable lung cancer: Patients’ perspectives of how it affects their life situation and quality of life

Abstract

Lung cancer is a disease with many biomedical and psychological symptoms. The diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer induces adverse effects. Having an inoperable lung cancer there are few possibilities of being cured. Management of patients with inoperable disease is directed at relieving local or systemic symptoms. The purpose of this study is to describe how it affects the patients' life situation and quality of life. Data was collected by qualitative interviews where the patient's lived experiences were articulated. Twenty-three Swedish patients diagnosed and starting palliative treatment for inoperable lung cancer were interviewed. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were interpreted trough interpretive phenomenology. Six themes were identified that were important for the informants' experience of their life situation and quality of life. The themes were: Experience of uncertainty; including time of waiting and thoughts, experience of hope; about a prolonged life, network as support; being treated as the person they are thoughts of death; is there time to conclude their lives?, feelings of shame and guilt; they have caused the disease by themselves and next of kin reactions; sadness, guilt, worries and anger. These six themes gave a structure presenting the essence: Living as usual. Maintaining independency and integrity were important, as well as maintaining status, being treated as the person they always had been and that they experience that they had a meaning to fulfill in life. They were living as usual. The findings of this study point out the importance of improving the care of people afflicted with lung cancer, as well as promoting support for the next of kin, since they are significantly important for these patients' experiences of quality of life. This knowledge and understanding will be useful for development of interventions and guidelines for treatment.