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A meta‐synthesis of women's symptoms experience and breast cancer
Author(s) -
DENIEFFE S.,
GOONEY M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2010.01223.x
Subject(s) - medicine , breast cancer , disease , cancer , existentialism , perspective (graphical) , psychotherapist , psychology , philosophy , epistemology , artificial intelligence , computer science
DENIEFFE S. & GOONEY M. (2010) European Journal of Cancer Care
A meta‐synthesis of women's symptoms experience and breast cancer The aim of this paper is to examine the symptom experience of women with breast cancer using meta‐synthesis. Women with breast cancer may experience many symptoms resulting from the primary disease and/or treatment of the disease. It is very important the overall symptom experience from the patients' perspective is captured and understood by health professionals. The question developed was ‘What is the symptom experience of women with breast cancer from time of diagnosis to completion of treatment’. The meta‐synthesis process as developed by Sandelowski and Barroso was used to collect and analyse the data. The overarching idea emerging from this meta‐synthesis is that the symptoms experience for women with breast cancer has effects on the very ‘self’ of the individual. Emerging is women's need to consider the existential issues that they face while simultaneously dealing with a multitude of physical and psychological symptoms. This meta‐synthesis develops a new, integrated, and more complete interpretation of findings on the symptom experience of women with breast cancer. The results offer the clinician a greater understanding in depth and breadth than the findings from individual studies on symptom experiences.