Title: Cancer-treated with sequelae and everyday working life after ending cancer.
Background: The incidence of cancer worldwide is increasing, while at the same time a reduced mortality rate is being seen, thus also in Denmark. With this increase in cancer survivors, interest in cancer-treated with sequelaes and their problems should be shown. This is because cancer-related sequqlaes are usually persistent physical, mental and psychosocial changes due to cancer disease or treatments, which can be very debilitating in everyday life. Since a significant proportion of the survivors of cancer with sequelaes are in the working age, they must return to a working life that is part of the individual's everyday life. An everyday life that contributes to giving meaning to each individual's lifes, thus helping to construct the self, but may be experienced differently, when you have had sequelaes after cancer.
Purpose: The aim of this project is to investigate how cancer-treated with sequelaes experience their return to working life after ending cancer treatment, and how this experience affects their existence and identity. Additionally, what barriers cancer-treated with sequelaes are experience in relation to their return to working life.
Method: This project is a qualitative study with a phenomenological and critical recognition interest. The data is derived from two qualitative interviews and an electronic qualitative study, answered by 74 respondents. These data are analyzed by psychologist A. Maslows hierarchy of needs and Professor and philosopher A. Honneths recognition theory, which could produce an individual and a community perspective for the project.
Results: The study found that cancer-treated with sequelaes experience their return to working life in different ways, but ¼ of the experiences are perceived to be of a positive nature, and ¾ of the experiences are perceived to be of a negative nature. It was analyzed that all the needs of Maslow's hierarchy of needs were affected in connection with cancer-treated with sequelaes return to working life, which was of importance to their experience of self-esteem and self-respect, thus affecting their existence and identity. Cancer-treated with sequelaes experience various barriers associated with their return to working life, as they experience a struggle for recognition, and thus a battle for truth from the workplace and from society. Lack of recognition can be considered by cancer-treated with sequelaes as an infringement of self-esteem, that is of importance to their identity. In addition, there is a lack of recognition from the judicial sphere that deals with a time perspective that is of importance to their existence.
Conclusion: It's mainly a negative experience for cancer-treated with sequelaes, having to return to their work life. There are basic human needs that are not met, affecting cancer-treated with sequelaes self-esteem and self-respect. Cancer-treated with sequelaes are experiencing different fighting for recognition that violate their self-esteem. This lack of need satisfaction and various barriers to recognition can affect and be of importance for cancer-treated with sequelaes’s identity and existence.