What do women with secondary breast cancer tell their children?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Women's experiences of sharing a diagnosis of secondary breast cancer with their adolescent children
IRAS ID
118253
Contact name
Leonie Lalayiannis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Research summary
When mothers are diagnosed with breast cancer, one of their main concerns has been found to be the decision of how to communicate with their children. The decision about when and how much to tell their children about their diagnosis is an especially stressful part of the experience (Barnes et al. 2000, Helseth & Ulfsaet, 2005, Shands et al. 2000). Kennedy and Lloyd-Williams (2009) reports that children are greatly affected by a parent’s diagnosis of advanced cancer so this is a particularly important area to be researched.
Open and good quality communication regarding a parental cancer diagnosis has been associated with lower levels of anxiety in adolescents (Nelson, Sloper, Charlton & While, 1994, Rosenheim & Reicher, 1985, Watson, St. James-Roberts, Tilney, Brougham, Edwards, Baldus & Romer 2006), lower levels of post traumatic stress symptoms (Huizinga, Visser, van der Graaf, Hoekstra & Hoekstra-Weebers, 2005), and lower levels of depression within the family (Edwards & Clarke, 2004). Expressing feelings around diagnosis and treatment openly within the family also enhances coping within the family during a parent’s cancer experience (Helseth & Ulfsaet, 2005). However, the majority of the research in the area is with women with adjuvant cancer rather than metastatic and therefore this study is focused on what women with a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis tell their children.
In the present study, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with 8-10 women who were diagnosed with metastatic cancer at least one year prior to sample collection and who had children between 12- 19 living at home at the time of diagnosis. These interviews will be qualitatively analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The results of this investigation will enable services to develop in order to meet the needs of these women and in turn meet the needs of the children in terms of communication.REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NE/0142
Date of REC Opinion
19 Jun 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion