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Background and aim: If it is true that the impact of the symptoms of the disease is differently perceived by each person and that there is an incommunicability of the experiences of suffering, it is equally true that the narration provides an understandable representation, which derives from the network of representations that are part of a personal history. The aim of this study was to offer an in-depth analysis of the “narrative interview” collected during the assessment of a 74 years old diabetic woman. Methods: A case study was conducted by a nurse with advanced expertise in conducting narrative interview. Content analysis and Meaning analysis were performed using a Grounded theory approach and according with Gee’s Poetic Method. Results: The patient after the diagnosis felt disbelief, anger and confusion. The illness forces her to change her life, habits and social role, with high suffering. However she adjusted to this new condition and thanks to her strong and positive attitude and the social support she received, she has succeeded in activating her “post traumatic growth”. Conclusions: A good narrative interview starts long before the interview itself and it requires: a specific training in the use of the instrument; the strengthening of specific skills (e.g. the active listening); the choice of optimal setting and timing for the patient; the ability to offer encouragement in the expression of the subjective experience and to conduct an analysis of the patient’s words with a subjective lens, reflecting the uniqueness of each illness experience. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. Of the various therapeutic approaches, chemotherapy is the most widely used treatment. Among the various side effects associated with this treatment, taste alterations (TAs) have received little attention, even though they have a serious impact on the nutritional aspect and quality of life (QoL) of patients. TAs concern 75% of the patients receiving chemotherapy, and this figure is still considered to be underestimatedbeacuse could be due both to inadequate attention and to the absence of specific subjective tools able to fully evaluate TAs in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Methods: A review by querying CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar databases about the current status of use of the CiTAS self-evaluation scale, was performed. Results: From critical reading of the selected reports, it can be said that until now CiTAS has not been used to a large extent for evaluating taste, even at a late stage in patients undergoing chemotherapy. However, the results and the selected reports seem to indicate hope for its wider use. Conclusions: In literature, CITAS scale has been used on very heterogeneous populations and not adequately studied in specific care settings, its use within controlled trials could implement its spread. Correct and subjective evaluation of TAs would allow the planning of specific and personalized interventions aimed at providing adequate nutrition to support the maintenance and/or achievement of a correct body mass index. All this could contribute significantly to a better perception of QoL in patients undergoing chemotherapy. (www.actabiomedica.it)