갑상선암 환자의 질병 경험

Abstract

This is a phenomenological study aiming to deeply understand and identify illness experiences of thyroid cancer patients in therapy processes and provide basic data for nursing intervention needed for them. The subjects were selected from members of a thyroid cancer patients cafe and those who were introduced of the research by friends who accepted to participate in the research. The researcher explained the intent and purpose of the study, an interview method and contents to them and interviewed them deeply one to one from October of 2016 to April of 2017. The researcher collected data using open questions in an unstructured interview in which the subjects were free to tell their experiences. The following questions were added: “what was your thyroid cancer experience?”, “what was your thyroid cancer diagnosis experience?”, “what was your thyroid cancer surgery experience?”, and “what was you radioactive iodine therapy experience?". The researcher just listened to them. The data was collected and analysed simultaneously. It was analysed with the use of a phenomenological test presented by Colaizzi (1978) and according to the procedure of the phenomenological research. To secure precision of the qualitative research, this study followed four assessment standards presented by Guba and Lincoln (1985): true value, applicability, consistency and neutrality. Based on the four standards, reliability and validity of the study were verified. As a result of analysing the responses of the subjects, it was discovered that there were 15 themes, 6 thematic groups and 3 categories. The first category of the thyroid cancer illness experience was ‘broken lives.’ Theme groups of this category were ‘anxiety about death’ and ‘impaired being.’ The second category of the illness experience was ‘solitude among the crowds.' Theme groups of the second category were ‘socially isolated’ and ‘lonely struggles.’ The third category of the illness experience was ‘positive change in senses of values.’ Theme groups of the third category were ‘positive attitudes towards life’ and ‘props for life.’ Based on the results above, this study suggested that as thyroid cancer patients have diverse difficulties in cancer diagnoses, surgeries and radioactive iodine therapies, emotional support and proper nursing should be provided for them. Also. as they are faced with difficulties from diet before iodine therapy and stopping taking medication, they should be provided proper information and nursing intervention