Experiences of patients undergoing chemotherapy – a qualitative study of adults attending
Uganda Cancer Institute.

Peter B. Wampaalu, Lars E. Eriksson, Allen Naamala, Rose C. Nabirye, Lena Wettergren*
1. Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
2. Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
3. Department of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
4. School of Health Sciences, City University London, London, United Kingdom
5. Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala, Uganda
6. Department of Neurobiology, Care Science and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
*Equal responsibility as principal investigators

Abstract
Background:Cancer is a global public health challenge and how patients in countries with poor healthcare infrastructure experience cancer treatment is largely unknown.

Purpose:The objective of this study was to describe adult Ugandan cancer patients’ experiences of undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Methodology:Using a qualitative descriptive design, seven in-patients with varying cancer diagnoses at the Uganda Cancer  Institute were interviewed about their experiences of undergoing chemotherapy treatment; the interviews were transcribed and  analysed thematically.

Results:The analysis resulted in nine subthemes, which were categorized under three main themes: ‘experiences related to the  body’, with the subthemes dry and sensitive skin, changes in eating and bowel habits, fever and feelings of abnormal body sensation; ‘thoughts and feelings’, with four subthemes reflecting the psychosocial impact of chemotherapy; and ‘actively dealing with  discomfort’, with three subthemes describing how patients dealt with side effects, such as by sticking to a diet.

Conclusion:Receiving chemotherapy treatment is difficult, and the side effects negatively influenced patients’ bodies and  moods. Dealing actively with discomfort and accepting negative impacts in hope of a cure helped the participants manage  the acute complications related to the treatment. We recommend the development of interventions to ease discomfort due to  chemotherapy.

Keywords: Cancer, chemotherapy, experiences, nursing, qualitative