Eating experiences and quality of life in patients with larynx cancer in Spain. A qualitative study

• Published in: International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 1967262
• Main Authors: Cipriano-Crespo, Carmen, Conde-Caballero, David, Rivero Jiménez, Borja, Mariano-Juárez, Lorenzo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01.01.2021; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Cancer; Clinical medicine; Content analysis; Discourse analysis; eating; Empirical Studies; experience; Humans; Laryngeal cancer; Laryngeal Neoplasms; Measurement; narrative-based-medicine; Narratives; Nutrition; qualitative; Qualitative Research; Quality of Life; Social organization; Social values; Spain; Surveys and Questionnaires; Triangulation; Spain; narrative-based-medicine; eating; experience; qualitative; Cancer
• ISSN: 1748-2631; 1748-2623; 1748-2631
• DOI: 10.1080/17482631.2021.1967262

This paper aims at describing the eating experience of people diagnosed with and treated for laryngeal cancer. Going beyond the mere conceptualization of "after-effect" or the quantification of the disease's impact on the basis of standardized questionnaires, we present a qualitative analysis of the narratives of such experiences. Ethnographic study. Data is obtained from conversations, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and written documents. A discourse analysis of the narrative information was conducted, with process coding and using the constant comparative method, inductive content analysis, category analysis, units of meaning associated with each other, and triangulation. The impact of cancer on eating processes is not limited to nutrition, but also affects the social and cultural value of food, which is put into question. The symbolic and social values which accompany the traditional way of eating are modified, which is connected with impaired quality of life. The impact on the eating process and its relationship with quality-of-life impairment are clear and connect with the importance of eating ways in culture and social organization. Greater attention should be paid to these contexts in clinical practice, which can affect even more than the impact on communicative processes.