Abstract
Background: With the rapid development of precision medicine, targeted therapy has brought new hope for patients with advanced lung cancer. However, because of the high specificity of targeted therapy, individual differences in treatment have occurred, and drug resistance has led to treatment failure, or unpredictable serious side effects have resulted in reducing or stopping treatment. Such outcomes reduce hope.
Objective: The aim of this study was to understand the phenomena of existential worry and hope in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are receiving targeted therapies.
Methods: The interpretative phenomenological analysis method was used in this study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with patients with advanced NSCLC who had received targeted drug therapy at a public cancer hospital in China.
Results: Four themes emerged from the descriptions of 16 patients regarding their psychological experiences of undergoing targeted therapy: wishes and concerns, hopes and fears, expectations and worry, and desires and anxiety.
Conclusions: Non-small-cell lung cancer patients experience positive emotions, such as hope and expectation, as well as negative emotions, such as worry and anxiety, while receiving targeted drug therapy. These different emotions can be experienced concurrently.
Implications for Practice: Our findings illuminate NSCLC patients' psychological perceptions while undergoing targeted drug therapy. Supportive care resources and interventions are required to enhance patients' positive feelings and reduce their worry during targeted therapy. Patients also require better preparation and information to enable them to improve their quality of life and remain safe after undergoing treatment.