Transition from disease to survival: accounts of adolescents who have experienced cancer.
Carolliny Rossi de Faria Ichikawa, Regina Szylit, Mariana Lucas da Rocha Cunha and 2 others
PMID 36449930WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescent cancer survivors described moving from hospital support to school and social isolation after treatment.
They sought normal routines, lived in the present, and found purpose through gratitude, faith, and helping others.
Key findings
01Some adolescents described school return as frightening because treatment effects changed their appearance, and they reported being bullied.
02Over time, participants described wanting to live like other adolescents by studying, working, and playing sports.
03Participants described living in the present and seeing survival as a second chance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only 14 adolescents aged 12 to 22 years from one outpatient service in São Paulo, recruited from the daily appointment schedule, so it may not represent survivors who refused, were absent, or live elsewhere. It is qualitative and describes experiences; it does not test whether any follow-up or school reentry approach improves outcomes. Participants were required to be cognitively and communicatively able for interviews and had no sign of disease for at least five years, so it may not speak to survivors with cognitive, communication, hearing, or disease-related limitations. Interviews were conducted by one researcher and sometimes with family or friends present, which may have shaped what participants said.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that a particular survivorship intervention works. The study describes what 14 adolescents said about their transition, not the effects of care.