Comorbid Suffering

Breast Cancer Survivors in South Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID4637652
AuthorsE N Bosire (0000-0002-4781-7101, SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU), School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, corresponding author), E Mendenhall (0000-0002-5826-1321, SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU), School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa), L J Weaver (0000-0001-8104-0511, University of Oregon)
Year2020
Volume30
Issue6
Pages917-926
Publication date2020-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1049732320911365
PMID32207368
OpenAlexW3012700863
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited39

Cycles of chronic illness are unpredictable, especially when multiple conditions are involved, and that instability can transform "normal" everyday life for individuals and their families. This article employs a theory of "comorbid suffering" to interpret how multiple concurrent diagnoses produce webs of remarkable suffering. We collected 50 life stories from breast cancer survivors enrolled in the South Africa Breast Cancer Study. We present three women's narratives who grapple with comorbid suffering and illness-related work, which arise interpersonally when comorbid illnesses affects social interactions. We found that women strive to create a balance between living with comorbid suffering and continuously performing routine activities amid treatment. Discrimination and isolation were underpinned by women's fear of being rejected by their families or how their illnesses created social distance between family members and the wider community. This study therefore illustrates how comorbid suffering requires intensive family commitments amid and beyond illness

Breast cancer · Cancer · Comorbidity · Everyday life · Narrative · Psychiatry · Social isolation · Cancer survivorship and care · Family Support in Illness · Health, psychology, and well-being · Medicine · Psychology