| Cancer survivorship research is shifting toward identifying survivors not as one homogenous group, but rather as encompassing several subgroups with differing needs by age and disease-type. Young adults diagnosed between the ages of 15-39 represent one understudied population. Even less is known about the experiences of young adults with lymphoma whose disease is considered incurable upon diagnosis or becomes relapsed (disease returns) or refractory (disease does not respond to treatment). This study used qualitative methods to examine the experiences of fifteen young adults (median age of 24 years) with relapsed or refractory lymphoma from diagnosis, through recurrence and beyond. The data analysis revealed seventeen codes that are categorized into five themes describing how life changes upon diagnosis, the process of adaptation, how recurrence differs from diagnosis and the impact on life choices, relationships and worldview. The grounded theory generated through this study captures the cycle of relapsed or refractory disease among young adults with lymphoma. The findings suggest young adults, particularly those whose disease is not cured after primary treatment, have unique physical and psychosocial needs. |
