Testicular and prostrate cancer : explaining the treatment and post treatment experience of couples
Testicular and prostrate cancer : explaining the treatment and post treatment experience of couples
The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the experience of men and their spouse/partner during and after completion of potentially curative treatment for testicular or prostate cancer. An aim of this study was to highlight participants’ needs and suggest care interventions to assist this client group during their experience.
Five major categories described the experience, 1) Searching for positives, dealing with negatives, attempting to gain control. 2) The emotional roller-coaster. 3) The impact on masculinity. 4) It should be all right now, shouldn’t it? 5) ‘Moving on’ and accepting: It’s more mental than physical. Findings suggested ‘phases’ during the experience when participants required differing degrees of information and support. Coping strategies varied, however attempting to maintain normality, ‘chunking’ the experience into cognitively management phases, and using social comparison, were strong themes. The spouse/partners considered the experience to be led by the coping style and wishes of the man. As a result this exploration revealed that the man and woman shared some common issues but also had different needs. Issues concerning a lack of cohesiveness of care delivery appeared to compound physical, social or emotional difficulties that participants experienced.
Social theories relevant to the couples’ experience included, embodiment, social comparison, and adaptation to threatening events. These theories were used to explain the reliance of the couple on using the man’s body to inform of cancer absence or presence. The findings provide a detailed description of the couples’ experience, which preserves the particular, and an interpretative conceptual model that offers a construction and explanation of the typical experience. Implications for practice are suggested and areas for further research are identified.
University of Southampton
Colbourne, Linda Claire
21b21db4-4bb8-4c33-b972-f7d14714e810
2005
Colbourne, Linda Claire
21b21db4-4bb8-4c33-b972-f7d14714e810
Colbourne, Linda Claire
(2005)
Testicular and prostrate cancer : explaining the treatment and post treatment experience of couples.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the experience of men and their spouse/partner during and after completion of potentially curative treatment for testicular or prostate cancer. An aim of this study was to highlight participants’ needs and suggest care interventions to assist this client group during their experience.
Five major categories described the experience, 1) Searching for positives, dealing with negatives, attempting to gain control. 2) The emotional roller-coaster. 3) The impact on masculinity. 4) It should be all right now, shouldn’t it? 5) ‘Moving on’ and accepting: It’s more mental than physical. Findings suggested ‘phases’ during the experience when participants required differing degrees of information and support. Coping strategies varied, however attempting to maintain normality, ‘chunking’ the experience into cognitively management phases, and using social comparison, were strong themes. The spouse/partners considered the experience to be led by the coping style and wishes of the man. As a result this exploration revealed that the man and woman shared some common issues but also had different needs. Issues concerning a lack of cohesiveness of care delivery appeared to compound physical, social or emotional difficulties that participants experienced.
Social theories relevant to the couples’ experience included, embodiment, social comparison, and adaptation to threatening events. These theories were used to explain the reliance of the couple on using the man’s body to inform of cancer absence or presence. The findings provide a detailed description of the couples’ experience, which preserves the particular, and an interpretative conceptual model that offers a construction and explanation of the typical experience. Implications for practice are suggested and areas for further research are identified.
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Published date: 2005
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Local EPrints ID: 465713
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/465713
PURE UUID: 1f74e08c-95dd-4520-bad5-00008f3601da
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 02:43
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:20
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Author:
Linda Claire Colbourne
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