We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
To save content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Cancer is a life-changing experience, and side effects from treatment can make it difficult for survivors to return to their pre-cancer “normal life.” We explored the “new normal” and barriers to achieving it among lung cancer survivors who underwent surgery.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 recurrence-free non–small cell lung cancer survivors. We asked survivors how life had changed; how they defined the “new normal”; barriers that prevent them from achieving a “normal” life; and unmet needs or support for normalcy. Thematic analysis was performed.
Results
Defining “new normal” subjectively depends on an individual’s expectation of recovery: (1) being able to do what they want without pain or discomfort; (2) being able to do activities they could accomplish before their surgery; and (3) being able to work, earn money, and support their family. We found that (1) persistent symptoms, (2) fear of cancer recurrence, (3) high expectations in recovery, and (4) psychosocial stress and guilty feelings were barriers to achieving a “new normal.” The needs and support for normalcy were information on expected trajectories, postoperative management, and support from family and society.
Significance of results
Survivors defined the “new normal” differently, depending on their expectations for recovery. Informing survivors about the “new normal” so they could expect possible changes and set realistic goals for their life after cancer. Health professionals need to communicate with survivors about expectations for “normality” from the beginning of treatment, and it should be included in comprehensive survivorship care.
This chapter moves beyond Fambul Tok and looks at how processes of transition and justice occur outside of the official scope and discourse, or through what I refer to as unrecognized mechanisms. I problematize the notion of transition, looking again at the official transitional justice discourses and contrast these with interview narratives that demonstrate the fluidity of conflict and post-conflict periods. The chapter further examines how unrecognized mechanisms that were employed by Sierra Leoneans served as more meaningful avenues of ‘transitioning’ past their war-related experiences. Individuals engaged in everyday activities, such as economic restoration, agriculture and religion in an effort to transition to what I call a new normal. The importance of the everyday and re-obtaining a sense of normality were key priorities. Individuals, therefore, define and enact their own ideas of what it means to transition, engaging with alternative, often more immediate and pragmatic, channels within their existing social structures to reach their own defined goals. Using Sierra Leone as an example, this chapter demonstrates how individuals in post-conflict societies are active agents in defining and facilitating their own post-conflict processes, thereby recognizing the unrecognized and understanding notions of transition and justice at work.
This chapter sets the stage for the book by providing an overview of the social, psychological, and physical benefits of music participation that enhance the overall well-being of older adults. The authors discuss various venues where musical activities for older adults might take place and then zoom in to portray senior centers across the United States, followed by an elucidation of the need for a series of studies on the musical engagement of older adults, a culturally undervalued population. A rationale is shared for examining how senior centers are adopting dramatic changes in their music activities through a global pandemic, leading into a new normal. Voices demanding changes in these centers segue into an introduction to the subsequent chapters of the book.
Recommend this
Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this to your organisation's collection.