Chemotherapy treatment: Colorectal cancer patients’ perception

Abstract

Background and objective: The chemotherapy cause greater impact in the physical and emotional sphere and in the experience of the symptoms. Thus, knowing the perception of these patients, is necessary to obtain subsidies that may direct the implementation of effective interventions for the management of adverse events and the support offering regarding the experience of the disease and treatment, with better impact on the quality of life. The objective of this study was to explore the perception of colorectal cancer patients regarding the chemotherapy treatment. Methods: It is a qualitative study, with content analysis based in Bardin. The sample was composed by 100 patients under chemotherapy treatment for colorectal cancer, who were enrolled in A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, Brazil. The data were collected using an interview about the perception of patients concerning chemotherapy. The interviews were audio recorded. For the analysis, we followed three steps: transcription, codification, and answers categorization. Results: The perceptions of the patients regarding chemotherapy were grouped into four categories: "negative experience", "necessary for disease control", "healing treatment" and "positive experience". The most cited was the negative experience, then, they referred worsening in the emotional level, since they reported sadness, loss of will to perform daily activities, side effects of drugs (hair loss, nausea, diarrhea), and other factors, as well as auxiliary activities necessary to receive treatment. Conclusions: For patients with colorectal cancer, the chemotherapy treatment causes negative experiences that could contribute for abandoning the treatment. However, they refer to be more strengthened and that they have developed the capability of learning through a painful experience as the chemotherapy. Nurses are responsible for valuing the patient's perception in order to make that his/her experience of illness and treatment possible to be reversed in a positive way, so they can have a better quality of life.

Oncological Treatment From Patients’ Angle

“…Knowing the most appropriate protocol for treating a type of cancer does not mean implicitly and cope with the emotional and disease adaptation problems of patients; the model of the disease that includes the clinical, paraclinical, certainty diagnosis, of the suffering, which refers to the perception of the condition of the patient(13,18).This study showed a lower-thanexpected level of understanding of cancer treatment; allocating a longer time to each future.Because previous research has not focused on understanding the perception of cancer patients in Romania on an oncological specific treatment, we could consider this study a first step in trying to explore new ways in order to improve the quality of medical care. Considering the complexity of the cancer patient's care goals, his and his family's expectations, the varied range of therapeutic options, effective communication becomes a critical element in the role of the oncologist, especially in the case of incurable patients.Communication is a challenge that requires patience, improving interpersonal and counseling skills in order to facilitate effectiveness and choice of options in a properly informed environment.…”

Evidências de validade da versão brasileira do Demands of Illness Inventory

“…4 O impacto negativo da doença e do tratamento oncológico, em virtude de seus efeitos colaterais, perpassa o aspecto físico do indivíduo e alcança outros aspectos, como o psicológico-emocional, o familiar, o social, o laboral, entre outros. 5,6 Ao analisar a literatura, [5][6][7][8] foram identificados alguns panoramas relacionados aos pacientes com câncer, como necessidades nos aspectos físico, estilo de vida diário, psicológico, assistência da saúde, informação, reabilitação, suporte emocional, comunicação, financeiro, espiritual, autonomia, sexualidade e nutrição.…”

Nutritional status and dietary perceptions in colorectal cancer patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy

“…Different researchers investigated the treatment perceptions of colorectal cancer patients on the daily activity or experience of the adverse symptom [48][49][50] .The perceptions of colorectal cancer survivors were also reported 51 . In 2018, Ticona-Benavente, et al 52 studied the perceptions of colorectal cancer patients during adjuvant chemotherapy. The study revealed that most patient's perceptions were negative experiences.…”