Living with long-term ill health - a study of the meaning of living with faecal incontinence after cancer treatment

The overall goal of healthcare and nursing is health. Receiving treatment for cancer can involve the risk of unwanted side effects. After treatment in the pelvic area for gynaecological cancer, patients often report faecal incontinence, which is a symptom that affects everyday life, social function and quality of life. Many of the women affected are young and are expected to live for many years after treatment.

The problems with faecal incontinence have been previously reported in a PhD thesis; however, further research from a care science perspective is warranted. An interview study is ongoing with the aim of describing the meaning of living with faecal incontinence which started in connection with pelvic radiotherapy treatment for cancer. The study has a qualitative descriptive and analytical design. Interviews have been conducted with ten women who are living with faecal incontinence after completing cancer treatment. The analysis of the interviews is ongoing using a hermeneutic-phenomenological methodology.