Abstract
This study focused on positive changes resulting from an illness, which was regarded as a middle-aged life crisis, to clarify factors related to positive changes in middle-aged female cancer survivors, and the relationships between these factors. Cancer survivors (N = 9, Age range 40-60 years; 7 breast cancer and 2 uterine cancer survivors) were interviewed. The results of content analysis generated 43 concepts and 18 categories that were integrated into 12 larger categories. The results of this study indicated two new fac-tors: “Desire for change” and “Changes in the activity level, which are not included in the concept of post-traumatic growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995), which is often used in studies of cancer survivors. Breast cancer survivors in their 50s with children less than five years of age showed many positive changes and related factors after the diagnosis. The model of positive changes in cancer survivors used in this study also suggested interactive relationships between factors and complex interactions between internal and ex-ternal factors.
