Autoethnographic Research; Diagnosis and Treatment Process of Borderline Ovarian Tumors and Nursing Care Experiences

 Cancer is one of the most important public health problems in today’s world and is closely associated with mortality. Considering the aging population of the world, women constitute half of the population, and gender-based cancer risks are being discussed in current scientific studies. In the literature, it has been established that one in every 20 women is diagnosed with cancer and one in every 33 women dies due to cancer. Borderline ovarian tumors are quite significant, as they account for 15% of ovarian cancers observed in women. Borderline ovarian tumors are most diagnosed in women between the ages of 30 and 50, usually in young women under the age of 40. All treatment stages are important processes in which the woman and her family change together. Struggling with a difficult disease like cancer, which evokes fear even at the mention of its name, can lead to problems in a patient’s adaptation to daily life, and crises can be experienced both in her family and social dimensions. It is well-known that providing effective healthcare services to women and their families helps them adapt to this process. 

This article was written to convey all my experiences during the operation and chemotherapy process following the diagnosis of a borderline ovarian tumor, from a biopsychosocial perspective. In this process, I addressed all my physiological, psychological, and social needs; my efforts to obtain information; the limitations in accessing adequate information; and the uncertainties, alongside existing medical knowledge, in an autoethnographic manner through my personal experiences as a daughter, spouse, mother, nurse, and academician, to share with others in the community who have the same diagnosis.