Background: Approximately 1.4 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide annually. Most newly diagnosed women face multiple treatment decisions, and want information about their disease and its treatment when making these decisions. While prior research investigates the psychosocial impacts of breast cancer, little is known about those impacts on the experience of decision making or how age influences decision making. There is a need to conduct research exploring this experience. Purpose: To develop an understanding of the experience of decision making for women diagnosed with breast cancer across the lifespan. Specific objectives were to explore: 1) the meanings women assigned to decisions; 2) how psychosocial factors influenced the decision making experience, and; 3) similarities and differences in decision making across the lifespan. Method: The tenants of constructivist grounded theory were followed. Twenty-nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 women with invasive breast cancer. Women ranged in age from 32 to 80 years of age (average=55 years). Participant data was grouped by age: younger women, under 45 years (N=7), middle aged women, aged 45-64 years (N=9), and older women, aged 65 and older (N=6). Data was analyzed using the constant comparison method of data analysis. Findings: Women with breast cancer described the experience of treatment decision making soon after diagnosis, and described their needs regarding information about cancer and its treatment. Main findings include a model depicting the process of the ways of learning in breast cancer. Two ways of learning were described by women, “learning by trusting the healthcare system” and “learning by trusting a system of connections.” Women reported barriers to information support, including emotional distress, patient-provider communication, provider-provider communication, making it personal, and access to information. Similarities and differences between age groups are presented. Conclusion: Diagnosed women want information about cancer and its treatment regardless of their ages. Ways of learning in the context of breast cancer guide women as they worked to make treatment decisions, yet barriers to information support exist in breast cancer, occurring at the patient, provider, and health system levels. / May 2016

Syftet med studien var att beskriva det dagliga livet för yngre kvinnor med urininkontinens. Sju stycken kvinnor intervjuades och en öppen fråga ställdes för att få fram studiens syfte. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys genom Lundman & Hällgren Graneheim(2012) användes som analysmetod. Studiens resultat visade att urininkontinens förde med sig en rad konsekvenser för den unga kvinnan. I det dagliga livet innebar det att livet blev mindre aktivt och då var det främst påverkan på den fysiska aktiviteten kvinnorna tog upp och upplevde som ett problem. Upplevelsen att känna sig ensam, okvinnlig och mindre sexuellt attraktiv förekom och rädslan fanns ständigt där att läckaget skulle upptäckas. Kvinnan låg steget före och tänkte förebyggande genom att planlägga vart toaletter fanns, dricka minimalt och anpassa sin klädsel. Urininkontinens upplevdes svårt att prata om och var inget självklart som delades med sin närmaste familj eller vänner. Sammanfattningsvis blev konsekvenserna och anpassningarna att den unga kvinnan med urininkontinens levde i ständig beredskap i vardagen. / The aim of the study was to describe the daily lives of younger women with urinary incontinence. Seven women were interviewed and one open question was asked to produce the study's purpose. Qualitative content analysis by Hällgren Graneheim & Lundman (2012) was used as the analysis method. The study results showed that urinary incontinence entailed a number of consequences for the young woman. In daily life it meant that life became less active and then it was mainly the effect on the physical activity women took up and experienced as a problem. Experience to feel alone, unfeminine and less sexually attractive occurred and the fear was constantly there that the leakage could be detected. The woman thought prevention by designing their everyday lives. Urinary incontinence was experienced hard to talk about and were no obvious shared with their immediate family or friends. In summary, the consequences and the adjustments to the young woman with urinary incontinence lived in constant readiness in everyday life.

Bakgrund: Bröstcancer är näst vanligaste cancerformen som drabbar yngre kvinnor. Vid yngre åldrar är sjukdomen oftast avancerad med högre mortalitet och skapar stort lidande för de drabbade kvinnorna. Syfte: Belysa yngre kvinnors tankar och upplevelser som infinner sig i livet efter en bröstcancerdiagnos. Metod: Kvalitativ metod genomfördes av bloggar där examensarbetet använt sig av innehållsanalys för att kunna beskriva en ny helhet av texten. Resultat: Resultatet visade att kvinnor upplevde svårigheter i att strukturera upp sin vardag, då de fick leva med ständig rädsla. Leva med sjukdomen innefattade mentala och kroppsliga påfrestningar. Trots detta fann kvinnorna ändå positiva stunder som ingav styrka och energi. Att orka leva i nuet och våga planera för framtiden med vänner och anhöriga, gjorde att det infann sig känsla av samhörighet hos de drabbade kvinnorna.  Konklusion: Det är centralt med ett bemötande från sjuksköterskan byggt på empati och förståelse för att förebygga vårdlidande. / Background: Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer affecting younger women. The disease is usually more advanced with younger women, and has a higher mortality rate resulting in greater suffering for the women and their relatives. Existential concern and questions arise within the women and they usually trust the health service for advice, support and answers. Objective: To shed light on younger women’s thoughts and experiences that occur in life after a breast cancer diagnosis. Method: Qualitative method was carried out by blogs where the degree project used content analysis to describe a new whole of the text. Finding: The results showed that the women experienced difficulties with daily organisation and had a constant feeling of fear. Living with the diesease resulted in mental and physical stress. However the women had moments of positivity whitch in turn lead to increased strengh and energy. Being able to live in the moment and daring to plan for the future with friends and family lead to a sense of belonging amongst the affected women. Conclusion: It´s important that the nurse’s treatment is based on empathy and an understanding to prevent care suffering.