Living with the Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Treatment: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Hye Chong Hong, Ari Min and Sungkyoung Choi
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Hye Chong Hong: Department of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea
Ari Min: Department of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea
Sungkyoung Choi: Department of Nursing, Gwangju University, Gwangju 61743, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-14

Abstract: Long-term childhood cancer survivors (CCS) may experience physical, social, and emotional struggles posttreatment. Our aim was to explore the experiences of CCS dealing with the late effects of cancer treatment from their own perspectives. This study employed a qualitative descriptive design to explore and describe the experience of dealing with late effects among CCS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 CCS in Korea. Participants were selected by purposive and snowball sampling and individually interviewed during the period from September to November 2020. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze data and identify themes. Two main themes and seven subthemes emerged. The two main themes were: “Things I encountered while crossing a bridge” and “Living as a survivor”. The participants reported both positive and negative experiences with dealing with the late effects of cancer treatment. The main themes indicated that late effects exert significant impacts on the lives of CCS in both positive and negative ways. Healthcare providers and researchers should pay attention to early intervention needs of CCS and their support systems to strengthen their positive experiences in dealing with late effects during their survivorships.

Keywords: childhood cancer; survivors; late effects; qualitative research; life change events; cancer treatment; survivorship; health care; caring science (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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