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Introduction
Melanoma is one of the most dangerous forms of skin cancer and has been on the rise over the past 30 years. More than 90% of persons who have had the illness for five years are still alive (Chiaravalloti et al., 2018). According to the American Cancer Society Journal, melanoma is a condition that affects more than a million people in the U.S (Chiaravalloti et al., 2018). The illness is also well-known for its virulence and for its ability to elude the treatments available.
On the other hand, melanoma has the ability to spread during its early phases. Its aggressiveness and resistance to therapy are two of its most concerning characteristics, and the disease will take 10 to 25 years of a person’s life on average (Tibubos et al., 2018). Researchers need to understand the long-term implications of melanoma diagnosis to assist them in devising appropriate melanoma care practices that can enhance the quality of life. The term “quality of life” encompasses a person’s physical, social, and mental well-being (Vogel et al., 2017). There is insufficient research on the effects of melanoma treatment on people’s life. The findings of this research will help to alleviate some of the anxieties that survivors of melanoma have. There are many issues related to the quality of life for those battling cancer, and the purpose of this study is to have a concentrated group discussion to identify them all. To advance the life of the melanoma survivors, researchers will need to better know the challenges that survivors face even after their treatment has ended.
Study Partakers
Patients who had been treated by a dermatologist and an oncologist were included in the research. Patients who agreed to participate in the study were asked to provide a suitable sample that would aid in achieving the targeted outcomes. To participate in the study, participants had to have been diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma after 2010. The research was open to everyone between the ages of 18 and 65. It was required to set boundaries in order to guarantee that the study’s appropriateness criteria matched those of the prior investigations.
Intensive Group Conversation
Individuals diagnosed with stage 1-3 melanoma were divided into small groups and asked to share their fears and anxieties about the condition in the research. However, the groupings were arranged in accordance with the severity of the illness. There were two groups of patients: those who had early-stage melanoma and those who had more advanced stages (stage 3). Due to the aforementioned observations of differences in emotional adjustment upon diagnosis, the gender of the patient was also considered an essential factor.
The research required two-hour focus group conversions to point out the survival concerns among them. Participant signatures on written informed agreements were obtained ahead of time and presented to them before the conversation began. Audio recordings of the meetings were made, and the subjects were given a token of gratitude for their participation. Moderators were utilized in the facilitation of the discussion, and each group’s moderator followed a set of guidelines for leading a productive conversation in a small group setting. The discussions were facilitated by questions that had been iteratively formulated. First, a literature review was conducted on the prominence of life in melanoma fighters.
The examiners went over all of the concerns raised and narrowed them down to a manageable number of questions for the focus group discussion. Finally, a question on melanoma’s physical, social, emotional, and expressive effects after diagnosis was asked. In analysis of records given by recruited groups, standard qualitative research procedures were used. Due diligence, homogeneity, and consensus on the most essential subtopics were taken into consideration while comparing the findings.
Findings
The study utilized 110 people with melanoma who were willing to participate in the trial. Of the willing 110 participants, only 73 of them participated in the study. The rest of the participants who expressed interest but never participated gave scheduling conflicts as the significant reason for their lack of participation. Despite the failure among some targeted number of participants, extensive discussion was carried out among the available number, and excellent results were revealed. Physical, emotional, social concerns amongst the melanoma survivors, as well as their experience at diagnosing, were studied, and the rest of this chapter gives the findings.
Physical uncertainties
The study looked at the individuals’ physical well-being from the moment of diagnosis all the way through their post-survivorship years. Many of the subjects in the research reported recurring physical anxieties, such as pain, shock, and edema (Brown et al., 2020). According to one participant, her melanoma started on the side of her face and spread to the neck itself. She had to wear compression stockings to prevent fluids from leaking out since it was so deep. Other individuals experienced minor recovery-period limits, mostly on their range of motion, although these subsided with time because of the treatments they received. Additional adverse effects were reported by those who received adjuvant treatment, with weariness being the most common. Melanoma patients with stage 1 tumors who had modest procedures reported no physical changes.
Emotional Concerns
Majority of participants reported feeling anxious about their emotional well-being. Fearing additional malignancies, several people were concerned about the test and follow-up appointments following melanoma diagnosis (Krajewski et al., 2018). Pressure decreased with time for some subjects, while tension persisted for years after their diagnosis for others. Most of those surveyed said they depended on their religious leaders for emotional support, while some relied on family members. The spiritual support from families and religious authorities were noted to ease the emotional concerns among the participants
Social Apprehensions
Some of the participants’ social concerns included avoiding excessive sun exposure by switching up their usual social activities. Even though some said they did not want to allow their melanoma diagnosis to hinder their social life, others took extra precautions to avoid being in the sun, so they could do their favorite things. In addition, additional participants shared their thoughts on the necessity of spreading the word about melanoma and its preventative techniques. Most people were frustrated because others misunderstood how bad their situation was. Due to the lack of health insurance and an expensive deductible plan, several participants had difficulty getting the best possible therapy for their skin cancer.
Changes in Behavior
The study also looked at how people’s health habits changed as a result of melanoma diagnosis. According to a number of individuals, they minimize their exposure to the sun. Some also avoided exposure to the sun altogether, and therefore they never engaged in any outdoor activity. Those who had the condition for a more extended period required more protective clothing from sunscreen (Fu et al., 2020). Some other participants said that they had become used to their condition and accepted themselves and so never altered any of their life style. A study has revealed some remained indoors because they feared other people.
Discussion and conclusion
The primary purpose of this research was to examine the experiences of people diagnosed with melanoma. Survivors of melanoma reported certain quality-of-life concerns as a result of their experiences (Baruch et al., 2021). Research on cancer survivors’ quality of life is ongoing, and this research will add to the findings from previous studies on the subject. Most of the individuals in this study were astonished and heartbroken when they learned they had the disease. The findings are also in line with earlier studies showing that people who have survived melanoma often have side effects related to their therapy. After adjuvant treatment, individuals reported experiencing symptoms including nausea and exhaustion. Persistent pain and changed feelings were also experienced by several of the patients at the surgical site. Some of the individuals had lymphedema, which added to the problems. Some volunteers, on the other hand, did not express any physical discomfort.
Emotional distress also is a major concern for melanoma survivors, as research has shown. According to some participants, the most common concern was anxiousness. Some patients expressed anxiety about recurrence or the emergence of an entirely new type of cancer, while others expressed concern about the disease spreading to other members of their family. During the diagnosis, fear was at its highest, but it decreased with time. Participants in this study, like those in previous studies, expressed anxiety over surgical scars that were left behind following their procedures (Baruch et al., 2021). Some folks were worried about what others would think of them since they believed they were deformed.
Some individuals who were diagnosed with melanoma had a positive influence on their families since it strengthened their familial ties, according to prior research. Some people, on the other hand, feared social isolation and hence avoided any outdoor activities. Research has found that despite the support of the individual family, loneliness and isolation remained high (Davis et al., 2019). The general public’s lack of knowledge regarding the danger of melanoma was cited as a contributing factor throughout the discussion. Compared to breast cancer survivors, melanoma survivors also have to meet and support one other on a more regular basis (Greco et al., 2019). Public awareness of the condition will also be raised as a result of the group effort.
Some survivors stayed indoors when the sun was out, avoiding activities that might expose themselves to the rays. Others used garments to protect themselves from the sun’s harmful rays. Even with a diagnosis, some people refuse to limit their sun exposure, putting their health in danger. The paper recommends that melanoma survivors be educated about sun exposure and sun protection activities in order to reduce their chance of developing future melanomas.
To conclude, melanoma has become more common in recent years. Considering the disease’s existence at young age, improved knowledge of the experience of its survivors is needed to create strategies to assist them in managing the illness. The ailment has such a devastating impact on the survivors’ quality of life. Understanding the illness in greater detail is vital to assist manage it and improve health and well-being as melanoma’s incidence continues to increase.
Disease survivors who took part in this study expressed a broad sense of psychological, social, and physical problems after their diagnosis. As a result of the high levels of loneliness and isolation experienced by melanoma survivors, it is critical that the general public learn more about them. In order to improve their social well-being, survivors should engage with one another and offer support to one another. Despite the fact that melanoma survivors have varying concerns, there are many similar experiences. It is clear from the results of this investigation that the illness affects only one person and is not communicable. As a result, melanoma sufferers’ shared experiences may be used to build interventions that improve their health and well-being.
References
Baruch, E. N., Youngster, I., Ben-Betzalel, G., Ortenberg, R., Lahat, A., Katz, L., & Boursi, B. (2021). Fecal microbiota transplant promotes response in immunotherapy-refractory melanoma patients. Science, 371(6529), 602-609.
Brown, S. L., Fisher, P. L., Hope‐Stone, L., Hussain, R. N., Heimann, H., Damato, B., & Cherry, M. G. (2020). Predictors of long-term anxiety and depression in uveal melanoma survivors: A cross-lagged five-year analysis. Psycho-Oncology, 29(11), 1864-1873. Web.
Chiaravalloti, A. J., Jinna, S., Kerr, P. E., Whalen, J., & Grant-Kels, J. M. (2018). A deep look into thin melanomas: what’s new for the clinician and the impact on the patient? International Journal of Women’s Dermatology, 4(3), 119-121.
Davis, L. E., Shalin, S. C., & Tackett, A. J. (2019). Current state of melanoma diagnosis and treatment. Cancer biology & therapy, 20(11), 1366-1379.
Fu, H., Teleni, L., Crichton, M., & Chan, R. J. (2020). Supportive care and unmet needs in patients with melanoma: A mixed-methods systematic review. Supportive Care in Cancer, 28(8), 3489-3501.
Greco, A., Safi, D., Swami, U., Ginader, T., Milhem, M., & Zakharia, Y. (2019). Efficacy and adverse events in metastatic melanoma patients treated with combination BRAF plus MEK inhibitors versus BRAF inhibitors: A systematic review. Cancers, 11(12), 1950.
Krajewski, C., Benson, S., Elsenbruch, S., Schadendorf, D., & Livingstone, E. (2018). Predictors of quality of life in melanoma patients 4 years after diagnosis: results of a nationwide cohort study in Germany. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 36(6), 734-753. Web.
Tibubos, A. N., Ernst, M., Brähler, E., Fischbeck, S., Hinz, A., Blettner, M., & Beutel, M. E. (2019). Fatigue in survivors of malignant melanoma and its determinants: a register-based cohort study. Supportive Care in Cancer, 27 (8), 2809-2818.
Vogel, R. I., Strayer, L. G., Engelman, L., Nelson, H. H., Blaes, A. H., Anderson, K. E., & Lazovich, D. (2017). Comparison of quality of life among long-term melanoma survivors and non-melanoma controls: A cross-sectional study. Quality of Life Research, 26 (7), 1761-1766.
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