The Experiences of Illness in Korean Bladder Cancer Patients With Radical Cystectomy

Abstract

Background: After radical cystectomy, many bladder cancer patients experience physical and psychological difficulties. For nurses, understanding the illness experiences should be the utmost priority. Objective: The aim of this study was to comprehensively understand the experiences of illness among bladder cancer patients with radical cystectomy in Korea. Methods: Purposive sampling was used in this qualitative study to recruit patients hospitalized with bladder cancer at the urology cancer center in South Korea. Data were collected through one-on-one in-depth interviews and analyzed using the thematic analysis of Braun and Clarke. Results: Six themes were derived: "confusion with bodily changes," "loss of daily life as it was before radical cystectomy," "feeling daunted," "body acceptance," "adaptation," and "feeling grateful for life." These themes represent the emotional state and adaptation process after surgery. Conclusions: This study contributes to the understanding of the experience of illness in Korean adults experiencing bladder cancer. Whereas most previous research focuses on physical aspects, including treatment methods, this study focused on understanding the life and suffering after discharge of individuals. This study can help nurses to better understand the postoperative life of the patients. Implications for Practice: This study can be a foundation for developing informational materials or intervention programs needed to solve the difficulties encountered during urostomy or neobladder self-care. Specifically, a strategy has to be devised to alleviate the pain of loss and to help patients who feel daunted and experience a negative body image.T he number of Korean patients newly diagnosed with bladder cancer (BC) is surging every year, from 2192 in 1999 to 4379 in 2017, 1 and the number of Korean patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) for BC increased from 504 in 2011 to 747 in 2019. 2 The 5-year relative survival rate of Korean cancer patients is 70.4%, signifying an increase