The experience of illness and the needs of women with an ovarian cancer diagnosis (2014)

Data are based on a qualitative study concerning to experiences and needs of women with an ovarian cancer diagnosis. The ovarian cancer is the second by spread among gynecological cancers, and in Italy involves about 40,000 women. The experiences of women diagnosed often create unsatisfied needs in a wide range of domains (physical, psychological / emotional, cognitive, social, informative, spiritual, existential) that have not been adequately addressed during and beyond diagnosis and treatment. Due to the side effects of treatment and the worsening of the disease, women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are at risk of experiencing significant psychological stress and reduced quality of life. The study carried out therefore sets two objectives: the first is to explore the experience of women with ovarian cancer, in particular studying how they have experienced their diagnosis and treatment, and how the disease has affected them physically, psychologically and socially; the second objective is to understand women's perceptions about the nature of their unsatisfied needs, and their indications about how these needs can be met. The corpus of data is composed of 24 semi-structured interviews conducted by the research group involved in the study. The interviews were carried out following a non-directive style, which allowed the participants to define their own priorities, and with the help of a thematic script used to generate stories related to the participants' experience. The questions presented during the interview are aimed at exploring the physical, psychological and social consequences of ovarian cancer, and exploring the unsatisfied needs and opinions of the participants on how these could be addressed. Each interview has been transcribed and anonymized in order to make the interviewed subject unidentifiable and ensure their anonymity