Experiences of newly diagnosed cancer patients: A qualitative analysis

Pages: 1040-1044
Reetinder Kaur (Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh)

The experiences of cancer patients at the time of diagnosis affect their future course of treatment. The present study was conducted to understand the experiences of newly diagnosed cancer patients. The data was collected from 230 cancer patients using an interview guide. The experiences of cancer patients were divided into various themes: ignoring symptoms and late diagnosis, social support at the time of diagnosis, previous experiences and role in decision-making and information needs at the time of diagnosis. The results suggest that there is a need to understand the experiences of patients at the time of diagnosis in socio-cultural context so that therapeutic process can be made more sensitive and effective. The careful analysis of the experiences of patients at the time of diagnosis suggests that there is a need for more information and open communication between the patients, caregivers and health care providers. The health care of cancer patients should be made more culturally sensitive and family centered.