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From omnipotence to exhaustion: the perspectives of adolescents in drug therapy

This study aimed at understanding the meaning of chemotherapeutic treatment for adolescents with cancer. It is a qualitative study using Alfred Schütz’s social phenomenology as a framework. Seven adolescents were interviewed. Four themes emerged from the analysis of their discourses: Impact of the disease on their lives; The discomfort of treatment; Coping strategies and Projection to the future without the disease. The statements of the adolescents revealed that the experience with the chemotherapeutic treatment affects several possibilities of being-in-the-world-with-the-others. The healthcare team plays a fundamental role in the lives of these adolescents, and this relationship goes beyond the scientific level.

Adolescent; Neoplasms; Drug therapy; Qualitative Research


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