Attributions of survival and methods of coping of long-term ovarian cancer survivors: a qualitative study
Surviving ovarian cancer is the exception, not the rule. Which means that those who do survive are worthy of study, looking for practical and emotional routines that may be helpful to others.
Ten-year survival is even more exceptional, with about 8% of Stage IV ovarian cancer patients living this long after diagnosis. This study looked at 22 women, trying to establish common strategies or tactics. Because of the scarcity of long-term survivors, the study is small and biased towards the white and wealthy.
Unsurprisingly there was no feature common to all the women. A small number (5 of the 22) thought they were just lucky, none felt guilty. For those who had faith, it usually strengthened. A large majority (19 of the 22) attributed their survival to expert medical care. Many adopted a positive attitude to their adversity and made life-affirming choices, with changes to diet and exercise, to exclude negative feedback and seek control through greater knowledge.
No comments:
Post a Comment