The Experience of Illness in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients

Hye Sook Kim; Myungsun Yi

doi:10.5388/aon.2016.16.3.121

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Kim and Yi: The Experience of Illness in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients

Original Article

Asian Oncology Nursing 2016; 16(3): 121-131.

Published online: 30 September 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5388/aon.2016.16.3.121

The Experience of Illness in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients

Hye Sook Kim¹, Myungsun Yi²

¹College of Nursing, Graduate School of Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

²College of Nursing & Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Kim, Hye Sook College of Nursing, Seoul National Universigy, 103, Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Korea. Tel: +82-2-740-8836 Fax: +82-2-766-1852 sook82@snu.ac.kr

Received 28 July 2016 Revised 2 September 2016 Accepted 26 September 2016

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to explore the illness experiences of Korean patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Methods

Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with 9 patients. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

Results

Five themes emerged as a result of the analysis. "Embarrassment from unfamiliar diagnosis and rapid progression" delineates lymphoma as a very cancer. "Maelstrom in dilemma of cancer treatment" describes suffering due to side effects and complications with lack of information about treatments. "Rearrangement of relationships due to social prejudice" describes interpersonal relationships with others and family members. "Keeping psychological stability through balancing alertness and oblivion" illustrates strategies to overcome the fear of recurrence. "A new life obtained by introspection" delineates the outcome of overcoming cancer through self-reflection.

Conclusion

Patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma experienced tremendous physical and psychosocial problems. There are significant knowledge gaps between patients and health professionals. Based on the results of the study, health professionals could develop effective nursing interventions to improve the quality of life of non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients.

Keywords: Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Life Experience, Life Change Events, Qualitative Research

Figures and Tables

Table 1

The Characteristics of the Patients

No.	Gender	Current age (year)	Subtype	Stage	Current treatment	Time since last treatment (month)
1	F	24	Burkitt lymphoma	2	No	14
2	M	51	Follicular lymphoma	4	Yes (maintenance treatment)	-
3	F	29	SCPTCL	Unknown	No	6
4	M	46	PCNSL	None	No	4
5	F	20	LBL	3	Yes (maintenance treatment)	-
6	F	49	DLBL	2	No	52
7	M	63	DLBL	4	No	42
8	M	62	DLBL	4	No	4
9	F	42	DLBL	3	No	32

SCPTCL= Subcutaneous Panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma; PCNSL= Primary central nervous system lymphoma; LBL= Lymphoblastic lymphoma; DLBL= Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Table 2

Themes and Subthemes of the Fingings

Themes	Sub-themes
Embarrassment from unfamiliar diagnosis and rapid progression	1) Shock about trivial symptoms progressed suddenly
	2) Confusion due to unfamiliar cancer
Maelstrom in dilemma of cancer treatment	1) Shrunken existence due to side effects
	2) Anger and depression due to complications
	3) Frustration due to lack of communication and information
Rearrangement of relationships due to social prejudice	1) Alineation in prejudice
Rearrangement of relationships due to social prejudice	2) Touching consideration
Keeping psychological stability through balancing alert and oblivion	1) Self management with increased sensitivity
	2) Oblivion through immersion in work
A new life obtained by introspection	1) Comforting self by changing a viewpoint
A new life obtained by introspection	2) Pursuing happiness in here and now

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