Introduction: Each year potentially 1:270 children in the US are affected by the diagnosis of cancer in their mother. The diagnosis of cancer in a woman may cause changes in her behavior, emotions, and physical and family functioning (Lewis, 1996). In turn, these changes may impact her adolescents behavior, school performance, emotions, and physical functioning (Visser et al., 2004). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to elicit and understand the adolescents experience of having a mother with early stage cancer, the meaning that adolescents construct about having a mother with early stage cancer, and the processes that adolescents use in coping with having a mother with early stage cancer. Methods: This qualitative study used a grounded theory method to guide the exploration of the experience of male and female adolescents, ages 12-17 years, whose mother had been diagnosed with early stage cancer a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 2 years ago. Each early stage cancer had a 5-year relative survival rate of 80% or greater. Adolescents responses were elicited by a semi-structured interview guide. Findings: Adolescents experienced a process after their mother was diagnosed with cancer. After they learned the diagnosis, the process became cyclical and at times simultaneous, as cancer changed the family, the adolescents coped, and demonstrated a sense of purpose. Conclusions: Having a mother with cancer is a significant life changing event for adolescents.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-12112008-103742 |
| Date | 18 December 2008 |
| Creators | Grabiak, Beth Rene |
| Contributors | Kathryn R. Puskar, DrPH, RN, FAAN, Judith A. Erlen, PhD, RN, FAAN, Janet Stewart, PhD, RN, Carl I. Fertman, PhD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12112008-103742/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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