Gonzaga Mubuuke Aloysius
Radiology department, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.
Pan Afr Med J. 2013 Oct 19;16:60. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2013.16.60.2431. eCollection 2013.
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths amongst Ugandan women. Most women live through challenging and emotional experiences having been diagnosed with breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of women diagnosed and living with breast cancer.
This was an exploratory qualitative study using a convenience sample (n = 12) of women confirmed with breast cancer and reporting to the Radiology department for imaging. In-depth individual interviews were conducted and findings were summarized into themes, representative of the participants' lived experiences.
All women in this study initially went through emotional trauma of living with breast cancer. However, with time, they seemed to accept and cope with their situation. Four major themes summarizing their experiences included: Thought of Death, Strength to live, Loss of female identity and sexuality and Coping mechanisms.
This study provided a unique insight of the experiences of women living with breast cancer. By listening to their narratives, one could see emotional pain, anger, anxiety, strength to live and many more. Although women with breast cancer get clinical management, there is need to design holistic palliative healthcare services including counseling to assist then cope with life.
乳腺癌是乌干达女性癌症死亡的主要原因之一。大多数被诊断出患有乳腺癌的女性都经历过充满挑战和情感波折的历程。本研究的目的是探索被诊断患有乳腺癌并与之抗争的女性的生活经历。
这是一项探索性定性研究，采用便利抽样法（n = 12），选取了确诊患有乳腺癌并前往放射科进行影像学检查的女性。进行了深入的个人访谈，并将结果归纳为主题，以代表参与者的生活经历。
本研究中的所有女性最初都经历了患乳腺癌生活带来的情感创伤。然而，随着时间的推移，她们似乎接受并应对了自己的处境。总结她们经历的四个主要主题包括：死亡念头、生存的力量、女性身份和性特征的丧失以及应对机制。
本研究对乳腺癌女性的经历提供了独特的见解。通过聆听她们的叙述，可以看到情感痛苦、愤怒、焦虑、生存的力量等等。尽管乳腺癌女性接受了临床治疗，但仍需要设计全面的姑息医疗服务，包括咨询，以帮助她们应对生活。
