Open Wounds and Healed Scars: A Qualitative Study of Elderly Women's Experiences With Breast Cancer.

Only 21 women were interviewed, so the findings describe their experiences rather than how common they are. Women were recruited from 3 hospitals in a relatively rural part of the northeast Netherlands and were white and generally middle class, so the sample may not represent all older women. Nurses searched files and contacted patients, which may have introduced selection bias, although nurses were told to match inclusion criteria and seek diversity. Interviews took place 3 to 24 months after hospital treatment, so recall of treatment experiences may be imperfect. The study used cross-sectional data, so it cannot show how these women's lives changed later. Participants had to speak Dutch and converse for an hour, and palliative patients were excluded, so women with severe cognitive, language, physical or end-of-life needs were not represented. Reasons for nonparticipation of 5 invited women were unknown.

Do not read this study as evidence that oncology nurses improve breast cancer outcomes. It described the experiences of 21 women and measured no outcomes or treatment effects.