Lived experiences of women with cancer from post-traumatic growth: A qualitative study

Subject Areas : Health

marjan torkzadeh ¹ , Maryam salehzadeh ² , fahime dehghani ³

1 - Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.
2 - Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
3 - Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

Received: 2022-08-24 Accepted : 2023-01-04 Published : 2024-08-04

Keywords: Women with cancer, post-traumatic growth, Lived experiences, psychological upgrade,

Abstract :

Cancer, as one of the most prevalent diseases in the world, can have many negative effects on the patients' lives; but nowadays researchers pay attention to the positive psychological changes after getting cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the lived experiences of women with cancer of post-traumatic growth.This study examines the biological experiences of cancer patients with post-traumatic growth situated using the qualitative phionsenomenological method. Statistical population of the study included all women with cancer in Isfahan and Yazd.The participants of this study were 16 Women with cancer who were selected by snowball sampling. Also, the participants of the study completed the post-traumatic growth questionnaire (Tedski & Caldehon, 1996). To collect data, we used semi-structured interviews which continued to saturate. Interview questions include 1- How was your experience of growth after trauma? 2- What have been the consequences of cancer for you? 3- How do you describe your personality before and after cancer? 3- What changes do you feel in yourself and the world after experiencing cancer? It was. and to analyze the findings, we used Van Mann's theory.The research findings were gained in the form of a general theme of psychological upgrade and four main themes including spiritual transformation, well-being, personality changes, inter-personal changes, and lifestyle changes each of which has various sub-themes.The results of the present study indicate the experience of post-traumatic growth and significant growth in women with cancer. Because the current study findings are an analysis of the biological experience of cancer patients from post-traumatic growth, this study can have considerable practical results for cancer specialists, especially psychologists and paramedics, and of course patients.

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