Table 2.

Participant Reflections on Postoperative Experiences Illustrative Quotes

	Illustrative Quotes
Postoperative complications were difficult to anticipate based on their preoperative discussion	Family Member: He had drains in his neck he had drains in his arm this was all built up he had, bandages on his legs where they did the skin grafts and, you know the holes and the tubes and the, it was, freaking scary! I was not prepared... None whatsoever! ...None whatsoever.
	Family Member: They never told us how long the surgery would be...But, at NO time was I prepared for...what was involved at all. At ALL!. And like I said I walked in there [after the patient had surgery] and I walked out crying’, the nurse looked at me and I go, “I, I can’t handle this! ...I cannot handle this.” You know?
	Family Member: We just didn’t, you had to think about it because the doctor did say that recovery would be long, but we didn’t realize that it would take so long to get her back on her feet. She had nurses come and, and be with her every day for a while and physical therapy.
	Patient: [Reflecting on risks of surgery] And uh, I was prepared for those in my, in my brain. The reality sometimes is harsher...
	Patient: No, I guess I, you know the way the surgeon talked I would be cancer free and uh, get my strength back and go on about my business and that’s, that’s all I wanted I just wanted to uh, get it done and over with and uh, uh, be cancer free uh, be pain free, not have any problems. You know it’s been, 117 days since I took any food or drink in my mouth.
	Interviewer: Okay. Can you tell me a little bit more about, you say return to health, kind of what that means to you? What kind of things were you hoping to be able to return to? Patient: Being able to be independent, to thrive, to do things with friends, play with my grandchildren. None of which I can do now. Interviewer: Were you aware that that could potentially be an outcome? Like the- in the conversations that you had with your surgeon prior to the surgery? Patient: No.