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| | Coded Responses for those who answered Yes | | Coded Responses for those who answered No |
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| Identity/symptoms | Not mentioned. | Identity/symptoms | Cancer in body (n=5) “I think everyone has it but depending on how your body reacts to it.” |
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| Timeline | (i) Caught early (n=17): “if caught early, will have better outcomes.”
(ii) Disease progression (n=1): “I can slow down the spread of cancer and being educated and self-awareness can help…”
(iii) Early treatment (n=4): “early treatment can keep the cancer from spreading.” | Timeline | (i) First time diagnosis (n=3): “we don't know when cancers happen in the first place, so it is impossible to totally prevent it from happening.”
(ii) Caught early (n= 3): “All I can do is to try catching anything early.” |
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| Causes | (i) Environment (n= 1): “many external factors beyond our control--environment, pesticides.”
(ii) Sugar (n=1): “They should tell you sugar feeds cancer. I just read it in a book. I would have changed my diet 7 years ago!”
(iii) Unexpected (Unknown) (n=1): “Because based on all risk factors I shouldn't have gotten it in the first place.” | Causes | (i) Unhealthy lifestyle (n=12): “Avoid smoking, over indulging in alcohol and a reasonable amount of caffeine and diet some.”
(ii) Heredity (n=6): “Both of my parents have cancer.”
(iii) BRCA1 (n=1):“I am BRCA1 and understand that my getting breast cancer again is a great possibility.”
(iv) Environment (n= 2): “I think there are so many external factors beyond our control--environment, pesticides, etc.”
(v) Man-made carcinogen (n=1): “it's a man-made problem.”
(vi) Unexpected/Unknown (n=7): “no one knows why it happens.” |
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| Consequences | (i) Better chance of survival (n=1): “ I think that diet, exercise, a positive attitude, and scrupulous follow-up exams of your treatment team can reduce the possibility of reoccurrence, and certainly enhance the chances of survival should it reoccur…”
(ii) Witness success (n=1): “… My sister had a recurrence after she stopped Tamoxifen after 5 years. She did not get chemo even though she was stage 1. I think Tamoxifen saved her, could have saved her…” | Consequences | Not mentioned. |
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| Cure/control | (i) Healthy lifestyle (n=6): “reduce caffeine intake, better diet, increase exercise.”
(ii) Avoid estrogen (n=1): “keep the estrogen out of my body.”
(iii) Vitamins (n=2): “better diet, vitamins.”
(iv) Follow medical advice (n=3): “by following doctor's advice.”
(v) Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy (n=1): “If you do the surgery, chemo, radiation, I think you prevent recurrence.”
(vi) Hormonal therapy (n= 3): “I am trying with taking Tamoxifen for 5 yrs.”
(vii) Regular exam (n=2): “Because of family history I plan to get regular checkups for both breast and colon cancer.”
(viii) Prayer (n=2): “Prayer, diet, exercise, and vitamins, change way of living.”
(ix) Knowledge (n=1): “Knowledge is power. Had I known then what I know now, I would have had an oophorectomy before age 40, rather than a hysterectomy at age 56.” | Cure/control | (i) Healthy lifestyle (n=6): “I believe you can live a better lifestyle by eating correctly, taking vitamins, and doing a lot of exercise.”
(ii) Vitamins (n= 1): “I believe you can live a better lifestyle by eating correctly, taking vitamins…” |
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| Affect | (i) Positive outlook (n= 3): “I definitely believe maintaining a positive outlook can help to prevent cancer recurrence.” | Affect | (i) Not mentioned. |
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| Lack of Control | (i) Not mentioned. | Lack of Control | (i) Limited control (n=8): “I can delay recurrence but not prevent it.”
(ii) Fatalism (n=15): “Let's just say, you probably could prevent a car accident if you drive carefully, but you can't control what someone else does with his driving or control highway conditions. You cannot control your cellular function or cancerous conditions that are present in the environment.” |
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