No place like home? Home-based chemotherapy for adolescent and young adult sarcoma patients – a qualitative study

Results: Home-based chemotherapy affected the informants psychologically, helped to maintain their social ties and enhanced their physical well-being.The psychological effects were described as both positive and negative, where key findings included increased stress, the need to have an overview and a sense of freedom.The maintenance of social ties concerns relationships with family and friends and opportunities to socialise, such as being able to attend school.Enhanced physical well-being includes sleeping better, increased appetite, less nausea and an increased level of activity when treatment is administered at home. Conclusion:The informants explained that home-based chemotherapy has both advantages and disadvantages.They experienced different psychological effects, but the maintenance of social ties and enhanced physical well-being appeared to be positive for all informants.The study suggests that home-based chemotherapy is advantageous for adolescents and young adults as it enables them to lead a more normal life while undergoing cancer treatment, but this method of treatment can be optimised.