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
with a poor appetite and reduced energy levels. Uncertainty was
repeatedly expressed about what could now be viewed as normal
with respect to many aspects of their recovery. Awareness of
mortality and uncertainty about the future were prominent. For
some this increased feelings of isolation as they realised they could
never completely share the horror of the experience they had
endured.
For the purpose of this presentation two of the post-discharge
categories will be considered, communication and information and
elimination as well as the themes incorporated within them.
Sections of the participants’ transcripts have been used to clarify
and enhance the discussion.
Communication and Information
Each individual’s physical condition, disease state, emotional state
and social circumstances was inextricably linked with their need for
information. Most of the participants had been given a leaflet
providing basic information on day-to-day activities, feelings and
emotions, diet and bowel activity, sexual activity and follow up. It
also provided the contact information for such organisations as
Cancer BACUP, Cancerlink and Colon Cancer Concern. For some,
returning home was a particularly anxious time because they felt
that they had received insufficient information prior to discharge to
be able to understand the ‘new normality’ particularly in respect to
bowel function. Others felt that whilst the information valuable to a
degree it was too general, lacking in clarity, detail and specificity to
their individual needs.
‘Once you get home, there is no one to answer questions or fears.
How long will it take for my tummy not to go tender, weeks,
months? At night I want to pass urine, every one and a half hours,
no sleep or very little. When will this settle? I open my bowels
slightly every day, about four times a day, only a little. But what if
I feel constipated, what do I do? Do I take anything? Nurses from
your surgery have no real knowledge of your condition and they’re
only able to change dressings’ (8).
‘And I don’t know how much I can do, because they say no heavy
lifting for six weeks, but what is heavy lifting? If you lift a kettle of
water, you tend to feel it pulling’ (17).
The importance of information pertaining to resuming self-care
after colorectal cancer surgery has been previously reported
(Galloway and Graydon, 1996; Saegrov and Harding, 2004;
Simpson and Whyte, 2006). The findings of this study concur in
that they highlight the need for more detailed, personalised
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