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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jul 16.
Published in final edited form as: J Cancer Educ. 2011 Dec;26(4):641–648. doi: 10.1007/s13187-010-0169-8
Attitude Fear MD response Subjective norm Perceived control
“I heard the words lung cancer and I felt I was kicked in the gut…. I was terrified” (DP) “I felt my back was to the wall; I had lung cancer… I didn’t have too many options”(CTP) “He (physician) was telling me ‘I’ll never let you have chemotherapy but… of course, that’s your decision’; he was very, very negative about chemotherapy. Because he thought it would take away from the little time I had left.” (CTP) “My mother died of breast cancer; both of her sisters died of breast cancer and mine was in the lungs so I felt like OK, this is something totally different so we’ll see how this goes.” (CTP) “At first I thought, I don’tknow (about a clinical trial); when you’re in a fox hole, you’ll grab for anything that looks good, to get out of it. But then I realized it was a choice and that felt good.” (CTP)
It was absolutely overwhelming for me. I was scared. I’d wake up in the morning with fear.”(CTP) “I have lung cancer…The odds are not good.” (CTP) “… we’re already freaked out, scared to death,… and this doctor walks in and opens up the file. She never looks at us… and basically flat out said ‘there’s no hope; you might as well get your affairs in order… you know, you have lung cancer and there is no cure.’”(CTP) “I had cancer of the cervix (previously…., so I knew about cancer and how to get through it.” (CTP) “They told me what they were going to do a… clinical test and see if I could be in one (clinical trial). I thought… no more tests so I said forget it. Then the nurse explained it was always ok to say no, and I thought OK… I have some say in this… I just might do it.” (CTP)
“We were just numb, shocked, numb, just didn’t, you know, 42 years old, how… how does that happen?”(CTP) I took it as a death sentence; what can they do? Who do you know who survived lung cancer?” (CTP) “The nurse told my wife to take me on trip while I could still get around she told her in 6 months I’dbe a wreck and unable to leave my bed.” (DP) “I have never been sick a day in my life. I’ve been to the hospital to have my children and that’s it.”(DP) “There was just too many unknowns with the trial and I felt everything in my life was out of control so deciding on regular treatment was my best choice and I could still see my doctor and that was important to me because I trusted him.” (DP)
“There are no words to describe the terror and horror you feel.” (DP) “I thought about the chemotherapy and wondered which I would die from first—the cancer or the treatments.”(DP) “My former doctor didn’tlook me in the eye—hetold me to get a lawyer, draw up a will, and pray”(DP) “I have a lot of trust in my doctor… he’s doing things for my benefit, my wellbeing…” (CTP) “He (physician) explained it(CT) very well and he kept telling me it was my choice and although I wanted to help other people by being in it, in the end I felt the best for me was not to be part of an experiment.” (DP)
“I wanted to ask how much time I had left, but I didn’t,because I didn’twant the answer.”(DP) “Going to (Cancer Center)…they’re on the cutting edge and they’re improving the treatment minute by minute whereas the community hospital, it may be a month before that trickles down to them and I don’t trust it. I trust the cancer center—they do this all day long.”(CTP)
“Well, I knew right away that I would join, you know; when Dr.___ mentioned it to me, I made up my mind right then and there but I also talked to my sons about the clinical trial and, you know, they’re all in favor of it.” (CTP
No one in my family has had cancer. It just doesn’t run in my family so I thought I was immune.” (DP)
“I knew he (physician) wouldn’t tell me about a trial if it weren’t a good thing for me—he’s always got my back. But, at the end of the day, I just could not see me and (wife) driving back and forth hereto do the trial. It wasn’t fair to her and I think the treatment at my local place is going to be just as good.” (DP)
“My daughter is a nurse and she just flat out told me not to do it (clinical trial). She said it was something I could do when I failed the standard treatments.” (DP)