‘He Never Liked Sport Anyway’ ‐ Mother′s Views of Young PeopleCoping With a Bone Tumour in the Lower Limb

Abstract

Purpose: Treatment for a bone tumour can compromise quality of life (QOL), especially for young patients. We used qualitative methods to assess mothers' views of patients' experiences and their coping strategies at approximately 6 months after diagnosis (T1: n ¼ 12) and 12-18 months later (T2: n ¼ 11). Subjects: Mothers of young people (aged 6-22 years) who were undergoing treatment for either osteosarcoma or Ewing's sarcoma in the lower limb took part. Methods: A semi-structured interview was devised to assess participation in sport, social life, schooling and general mobility. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using content analysis. Results: Mothers reported a number of situations in which QOL was compromised, and these remained relatively constant over time (mean ¼ 4.25 at T1 and 4.27 at T2). However, strategies to manage these difficulties changed from Problem (constructive attempts to deal with challenges) to Emotion (managing the situation through use of emotions) focused coping from T1 to T2. Discussion: Although the sample size is small, our results suggest that patients adopt a variety of coping strategies to deal with the physical and social restrictions associated with disease and treatment. The findings suggest that young people continue to experience many stresses up to 18 months after diagnosis. The shift from Problem to Emotion focussed coping over time may suggest a degree of acceptance of practical problems.

Assessment of patient experiences following total sacrectomy for primary malignant sacral tumors: A qualitative study

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“…Other studies have reported similar observations. 13,16 In the current study, the few patients without significant social activity limitations had a common feature: better recovery of lower limb function.…”

Changes in the body image of bone sarcoma survivors following surgical treatment—A qualitative study

“…A systematic literature review concerning the body image of children and adolescents conducted by Fan and Eiser found that adolescents seem to have more body image concerns than younger children and that males cope better than females with appearance changes. Despite the numerous late effects of bone sarcoma treatment and the fact that many patients are left functionally impaired or disabled , body image is rarely studied in relation to this cancer.…”

Health-related quality of life in adolescents at the time of diagnosis with osteosarcoma or acute myeloid leukemia

“…Study designs most commonly involved survivors or their parents reporting on the adolescent's HRQoL from 3 to 6 months after diagnosis to 31 years after completion of all therapy for OS patients (Christ, 1995; Earle et al, 2005; Frances et al, 2007; Greenberg, et al, 1994; Koopman et al, 2005; Marchese, et al, 2004; Nagarajan, et al, 2004) and from 2 or more years after transplantation for AML patients (Bhatia, et al, 2005; Perkins, et al, 2007). Only three reports included both the adolescent and parent reports of the adolescents' quality of life (Perkins, et al, 2007; Koopman, et al, 2005; Tabone, et al, 2005).…”