Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
unwell when undergoing chemotherapy and therefore reduce their
normal activity and avoid exercise. Helping patients control their
weight whilst undergoing chemotherapy can be very difficult for
health care professionals as they are faced with a dichotomy: on the
one hand they are advising patients to eat as healthily as possible
encouraging them to include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in
their diet, but as mentioned earlier, many patients in this study
suggested that fresh fruit caused them to have severe indigestion
and stopped eating it. Due to alterations in taste, some patients
reported ‘going completely off their food’ during their
chemotherapy, this also causes concern amongst health care
professionals and they advise patients to eat small amounts of food
regularly. Sometimes the only foods that patients can then tolerate
contain high concentrations of fats and carbohydrates and this
advice can contribute to their gaining weight.
Section 5: Information needs and denial as a coping strategy
Many individuals have described the diagnosis of cancer as
‘devastating’, producing a more alarming response than that of any
other disease process (Wells 2001). Newly diagnosed patients find
themselves thrust on a journey which disorganises their daily
function, and which is surrounded with much fear and uncertainty.
One patient described how she was ‘devastated when I was told I
had cancer’ and how she thought ‘I was going to die’. At the onset
patients have to assimilate important information about their
condition and treatment options, and many embark on treatment
regimens that can threaten their physical and psychological wellbeing.
An informed patient is one who can anticipate and prepare
for events that may occur and an informed patient is one who has
the best chance of coping and benefiting from treatment
(Swinbourne and Tattersall 1999). However, this is not always the
case and one of the patients interviewed described her experience
as ‘confusing’ and ‘overpowering’ when given her information at a
surgical outpatient clinic before she started her treatment.
Many described the diagnosis of their cancer as ‘devastating.’ It was
evident from patients interviewed that the experience of cancer
chemotherapy and its side-effects varies greatly not only between
individuals but also for the same individual over time. Most of the
patients interviewed said that they coped differently at different
times. The importance of information, explanations and dialogue at
every stage of the disease trajectory is important so that patients
can adapt to their illness (Veronesi et al 1995). Many patients said
that their information needs changed as they progressed through
their treatment. They said they appreciated the information they
received before they started their treatment but some of it only
made sense to them as they progressed through their
- 216 -