Living With Breast Cancer Essay Example

better-suited to understand the agony of breast cancer patients thus accord them better care(McCaffery ; Jansen, 2010).

Suitability of Qualitative Research

Joulaee et al.’s choice of qualitative research is appropriate in that it focuses on an in-depth analysis of the patients’ suffering. Each of the thirteen participants gave a personal account of their struggle with breast cancer.

Patients were allowed between sixty and ninety minutes to narrate their experiences starting from the day they were diagnosed with breast cancer to the interview moment. Although similar questions were asked regarding their experiences with breast cancer, it should be noted that each patient gave their account of their struggle with the disease. Therefore, the research was able to derive more information as compared to what would have been obtained in a question-and-answer format (Joulaee, et al., 2012).

Justification of Research Design

Joulaee et al. (2012) aimed at achieving the opinions of many Iranian women. The decision to interview thirteen women of different ages and who were at various stages of their treatment was meant to obtain a diversified overview of the breast cancer reality.

The researchers claim that quantitative approaches do not answer the complex issues relating to human nature. They add that a more holistic approach is needed to explore deep layers of human feelings (Joulaee, et al., 2012). In justifying their interview method, Joulaee et al. (2012) insist that “qualitative research allows researchers to get to the inner experience of the participants” thus discovering of how meanings are formed as opposed to merely testing variables as revealed also by Mehrabi, et al., (2016). It is clear, therefore, that by opting to interview, the researchers were more interested

in understanding how breast cancer affects the patients in contrast to generating figures to show how many patients feel a certain way (McCaffery ; Jansen, 2010). It is worth noting that qualitative research follows a cause-effect model while a quantitative research focuses on a variant without establishing the effects of several variants.

Selection of Participants

Joulaee et al. point out that their research participants were selected at a private clinic in Iran. The clinic caters to women with breast cancer (Joulaee, et al., 2012). The research also explains that the women were selected when they visited the clinic for their routine chemotherapy or radiotherapy sessions. The method of selecting the participants was very appropriate because it captures the emotions of the breast cancer patients when they are dealing with the disease.

The research does not question those who went through the experience many years ago or the close families of the sick women. The choice to interview the sick women ensures that the feedback given reflects the patients’ firsthand experiences (Landmark, Strandmark, ; Wahl, 2001). Qualitative research should make use of phenomenological studies because such studies offer an in-depth analysis of the research subject or topic (Wong-Kim ; Bloom, 2005). A participant’s narration of their experiences is more likely to capture more than the required information because each participant’s story is different. In Joulaee et al.’s case of Iranian women, participants were interviewed for durations of between sixty and ninety minutes.

Furthermore, each participant narrated their experience thus giving the research a broad scope of information (Joulaee, et al., 2012). The recruitment of participants considered the ethical aspect of the research. The participants were briefed on the purpose

of the research and they all gave their verbal consent before commencing the interview.

Setting for Data Collection

The setting for the collection of data was justified because the best information on the effects of breast cancer can only be gotten from breast cancer patients (McCaffery ; Jansen, 2010). The decision to interview patients at a clinic also implies that the data was obtained from a primary source, i.e.

the patient. Breast cancer patients were the focus group and the data was collected through a semi-structured interview. The patients were asked to describe their experience with breast cancer. No questionnaires were used because according to the researchers, questionnaires would limit the scope of the data being sought and the feedback given by each research participant (Jensen, Bäck–Pettersson, ; Segesten, 2000). Data was collected by recording the participants as they gave their account of their experience with breast cancer (Joulaee, et al., 2012). The recordings were then transcribed and where necessary, the participants were requested to clarify on some of the issues they mentioned during the interview.

The researchers ensured that the data collected was evenly distributed by engaging thirteen participants aged between 34 and 67 years. The age difference of 33 years between the thirteen participants ensured that the data collected reflected a span of around two and half years between the participants. Essentially, the researchers aimed at exploring the effects of breast cancer in relation to age from the time of diagnosis to recover. A 34-year old woman who has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer would have a different viewpoint from a 40-year old wife and mother. Similarly, a 40-year old woman would have a

different viewpoint of breast cancer from a 67-year old woman who has successfully been treated or is at an advanced treatment stage (Joulaee, et al., 2012).

Relationship between Researcher ad Participants

The researchers’ main interest was to establish the effects of breast cancer on Iranian women (McCaffery ; Jansen, 2010). The data was collected randomly from patients at a chemotherapy and radiotherapy clinic. On the formulation of research questions, it is evident that the researchers were not biased because the participants were allowed to give narrations of their experience with the disease. It would have been possible to claim that the research was biased if there were standard questions that did not allow the participant to give a different viewpoint from what the researchers needed (Landmark ; Wahl, 2002). On the mode of data collection, it is evident that the research was biased because it sought data from a cancer clinic. The researchers should have considered that breast cancer patients are not always at the clinics seeking treatment (Landmark, Strandmark, ; Wahl, 2001).

Therefore, a visit to other facilities that offer help to breast cancer patients would have been ideal. For example, a visit to breast cancer support group during a meeting session would have offered the researchers a wider scope of research participants. However, Joulaee et al. (2012) quote selecting participants from a private clinic as a limitation to the research because not everyone would readily grant information regarding a disease(Landmark ; Wahl, 2002). Also, a sample of thirteen participants does not adequately reflect the reality of breast cancer patients in a country with thousands of breast cancer patients. Joulaee et al.

claim that breast cancer makes

up twenty-five percent of all the cancer cases among Iranian women. Therefore, the sample was too small to reflect the reality of the total number of women with breast cancer (Jensen, Bäck–Pettersson, ; Segesten, 2000).

Ethical Considerations

Joulaee et al.’s research proposal acquired the consent of the Tehran Committee against Breast Cancer’s ethics department. The participants were also briefed on the purpose of the interview for them to grant consent before the interview commenced.

The interview started after a participant had granted oral consent (Joulaee, et al., 2012).

Data Analysis Considerations

The data collected was sufficiently analyzed. Joulaee et al. (2012) went ahead to explain and quote the feedback that was given by participants during the interviews. They further categorize the data collected into subgroups such as the negative and positive aspects of breast cancer.

The in-depth analysis of the data reveals that Joulaee et al. (2012) went ahead to apply thematic analysis in understanding the extent to which breast cancer had affected Iranian women. For instance, the research deeply focuses on the reactions of the participants’ close family members. Such considerations imply that breast cancer not only impacts the patient but their dependents and close associates as well (Landmark ; Wahl, 2002). However, Joulaee et al.

did not present any contradicting data thus it is difficult to investigate the degree of accuracy of their findings. Nonetheless, the fact that data was collected by interviewing the participants narrows the chances of contradicting information because each participant gave a personal account of the struggle with breast cancer (Cimprich ; Ronis, 2003).

Findings

The research by Joulaee et al. (2012) has explicit findings. It established that women with breast cancer

in Iran suffer numerous challenges including psychosocial stresses and physical problems. The participants narrated how they are sidelined by their close families and how some have even lost their spouses due to the physical deformities that result from a mastectomy.

From the examples of evidence presented by the women, it is evident that breast cancer is a problem for Iranian women because it could mean that a patient will get secluded from the rest of the society forever. The researchers discuss the implications of getting diagnosed with breast cancer in Iran and offer a few insights into the possible solutions. For example, nurses and physicians are cited as having the ability to alleviate the suffering of patients by encouraging patient-to-patient relationships where patients can share about their challenges (Landmark ; Wahl, 2002).

Value of the Research

The research by Joulaee et al. is valuable in that it highlights the agony of breast cancer patients in Iran.

The same experiences are typical in many other countries across the world. Therefore, an understanding of Joulaee et al.’s work enables the reader to understand the plight of breast cancer patients (Landmark ; Wahl, 2002). The research touches on the role of healthcare experts in caring for patients thus creating a possible research topic of how physicians can lead the role of caring for breast cancer patients (Cimprich ; Ronis, 2003).

References

1. Cimprich, B. ; Ronis, D. (2003). An Environmental Intervention to Restore Attention in Women With Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer. Cancer Nursing, 26(4), 284-292. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00002820-200308000-00005
2. Jensen, K., Bäck–Pettersson, S., ; Segesten, K. (2000). The Meaning of “Not Giving In”. Cancer Nursing, 23(1), 6-11.

   http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00002820-200002000-00002

3. Joulaee, A., Joolaee, S., Kadivar, M., ; Hajibabaee, F. (2012).
   

Living with breast cancer: Iranian women's lived experiences. International Nursing Review, 59(3), 362-368. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-7657.2012.00979.x