Unveiling the Maelstrom of the Early Breast Cancer Trajectory

Bibliographic Data

ID4667947
AuthorsMary Godfrey (0000-0002-2408-534X, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK, corresponding author), Sarah Price (0000-0003-2343-5181, Independent Researcher, Edinburgh, Scotland), Andrew Long (0000-0002-3152-6625, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK)
Year2018
Volume28
Issue4
Pages572-586
Publication date2018-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1049732317746378
PMID29281944
OpenAlexW2777828593
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited48

Length and complexity of illness and treatment in early breast cancer mean that the acute phase may extend over months. Employing concepts of "trajectory" and "work" from chronic illness, we explored the temporality of the illness experience for women as it unfolded from diagnosis through acute treatment. We performed multiple, qualitative interviews with 14 women at critical points in their first year postdiagnosis. We differentiated between subphases of the acute breast cancer trajectory: becoming a person with breast cancer: a turning point; first steps in treatment: struggling to protect self-concept; being and feeling ill: "cure" as suffering; and conditional "recovering": an uncertain future. Each subphase represented the distinctive context in which illness management took place with consequences for the work women and those close to them engaged in, to manage the practical, emotional, relational, and existential demands of an illness that intruded every aspect of their lives

Breast cancer · Cancer · Existentialism · Feeling · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Sociology · Temporality · Cancer survivorship and care · Family Support in Illness · Global Cancer Incidence and Screening · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Internal Medicine

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