Feelings of women with breast cancer: a descriptive-exploratory study

Resumo

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women, which provides psychological shocks and uncertainties that may last a lifetime, apart from being a major public health problems in the present. Thus arose the need to investigate the feelings and experiences of mastectomized women. It’s an exploratory and descriptive study with a qualitative approach, developed in a support group, where seven women were interviewed with ages between 29 and 79 years old who were subjected to mastectomy. Data analysis was based on the Speech from collective subject of Lefévre. It was found that the way to face the diagnosis of breast cancer and mastectomy is particular to each woman, but mostly there was a degree of maturity to deal with these situations. Regarding to the women’s life after mastectomy, emerged central ideas that address the maturity, the worth of life and the times of seizure experienced by participants. This study may improve to a better understanding about the subjectivity of mastectomized women and to supply with important information to health care professionals to support an individualized and humanized care, without forgetting the totality of being in care.