Category | Concept |
Accepting life with cancer | Accepting the fact that they have cancer |
Accepting the naturalness of having cancer | |
Maintaining activities of daily living without feeling shackled by cancer | Exploring ways of reducing fixation on the disease |
Improving the non-patient aspects of life in a healthy way | |
Maintaining a take-it-easy attitude | |
Continuing to be themselves as before | |
Reconsidering how to continue being themselves in daily life until life comes to an end | Changing their lifestyle as a preparation for getting older |
Envisioning a future beyond treatment | |
Weighing life and medical expenses | |
Using trial and error to integrate treatment and daily living | Trusting and complying with the information given by health care providers |
Devising ways to protect one’s life from being unduly burdened by side effects | |
Negotiating with health care providers | |
Formulating their criteria for continuing treatment | Enduring side effects to the limits of mental and physical capacity |
Establishing criteria as to what extent side effects can be tolerated | |
Continuing treatment when its effects can be felt | |
Becoming resilient and accepting side effects | |
Obtaining help from caregivers | Accepting support so treatment can continue |
Relying on others to maintain their own lifestyle | |
Accepting moral support from family and friends |