Abstract
By conducting semi-structured interviews with the participation of nine early breast cancer patients facing surgical operations and by analyzing their narratives and comments gathered from the interviews, this study intended to clarify the psychological states of perioperative breast cancer patients who are about to receive therapies in accordance with the Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, thereby aiming to get some important clues and hints for providing such patients with ideal nursing assistance based on their psychological states.
The analysis of the interviews using a qualitative inductive method revealed the following eight categories as typical mental characteristics of breast cancer patients at their perioperative phase:Self-awareness and Unrest of Having Got Cancer, Desire for Life, Positive Attitude in Adverse Circumstances, Mental Peace and Feeling of Gratitude Secured by People around, Mental Uncertainty about Receiving Cancer Therapy, Worrying about Inability to Perform Their Responsibilities, Affection for their Breasts, and Requests for Medical Services for Cancer Patients.
In addition, the following key factors were identified as clues and hints for providing ideal nursing assistance based on the patients' psychological states:
-Responsiveness to the patients' desire for life, which is expressed by them throughout the pre- and post-operative periods.
-Offering considerate support to the patients who have a lingering attachment for their lost breast associated with its memories in relation to their family and others.
-Understanding of the roles and responsibilities they bear in their society.
-Providing them with adequate explanations that enable them to grasp the progress status of the therapy by themselves.
-Responsiveness to their concerns about the body image change caused to them by the therapy.
-Giving them encouraging words.
-Communication with them in a manner giving thoughtful attention to changes in their psychological states and their view of life caused due to cancer affection.
Furthermore, it was suggested that we, as nursing staff, should give special attention to a positive attitude inherent in the patients despite their adverse circumstances(defined as the power of "resilience" )to overcome and not to surrender to the trying environment, thereby recovering themselves mentally, and that nursing services that take the above-mentioned resilience of patients into consideration should be further investigated for establishment.
