A childhood cancer sibling's oral history.
The diagnosis of childhood cancer in a family member alters a sibling's life, including exposing a sibling to the side effects of cancer therapy, feelings of being displaced, and a possible misunderstanding of what is happening. The purpose of this oral history was to gain a better understanding of the recall and long-term effects of a younger sister's diagnosis of cancer at age 6 on the child's sibling, who was then 8 years old. Data were gathered from a 22-year-old sibling of a leukemia survivor through three taped and transcribed semistructured interviews. Themes emerged through the process of content analysis. Six themes: closeness, activity, fearfulness, anger, worry, and spirituality, emerged and were supported by thick descriptions.
Lehna
C R
CR
University of Texas School of Nursing at Galveston 77555-1029, USA.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009369:Neoplasms; D009679:Nuclear Family / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies