Abstract
The aim of this study was to illuminate spouses' perceptions of living with a partner who had been diagnosed with rectal cancer followed by surgery resulting in a stoma. The focus group interview was chosen as method of data collection. Two focus group interviews consisting of 2 meetings each were conducted. A qualitative content analysis was used. Five themes emerged: difficulties of being involved; living with uncertainty; learning to live in a new way; the altered body; and the search for explanations. There were feelings of anxiety about the partner's serious condition and the possible spread of the cancer. After the rehabilitation period, the stoma influenced the spouses' lives in many ways but they coped with the problems together with their partners and helped them adapt to their changed circumstances. This study indicates that the spouses were very much involved in caring for the patient suffering from rectal cancer by protecting them and showing empathy. However, the dependence on the stoma affected and restricted their family and social life.