Meanings of quality of life held by patients with colorectal cancer in the context of chemotherapy

Abstract

Objective: this study’s aim was to interpret the meanings assigned to quality of life by patients with colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Method: the ethnographic method and the medical anthropology theoretical framework were used. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and participant observations with 16 men and women aged from 43 to 75 years old undergoing chemotherapy in a university hospital. Results: the meanings and senses describe biographical ruptures, loss of normality of life, personal and social suffering, and the need to respond to chemotherapy’s side effects; chemotherapy is seen as a transitional stage for a cure. Quality of life is considered unsatisfactory because the treatment imposes personal and social limitations and QoL is linked to resuming normal life. Conclusions: the meanings show the importance of considering sociocultural aspects in the conceptualization and assessment of quality of life.