Explaining Perceived Priorities in Women with Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Objective: Cancer is a stressful event in life, and the dreadful impact and problems created for patients and families<br /> by cancer negatively affect their quality of life. Therefore, regarding the increasing number of cancer patients and the<br /> nature of this disease, the need to recognize and understand the priorities and problems of patients after the diagnosis of<br /> cancer is of high importance. This study was designed and implemented with the aim of identifying the perceived<br /> priorities of women with breast cancer. Methods: This study is a qualitative research of content analysis type. To collect<br /> data, purposeful sampling and deep semi-structured individual interviews were used. The subjects were women with<br /> breast cancer who visited the Breast Disease Research Center of Shahid Motahari Clinic in Shiraz, and the data were<br /> saturated after 15 interviews. The four criteria presented by Lincken and Guba were used to evaluate the validity and<br /> reliability. To analyze the qualitative data, conventional qualitative data analysis and MAXQDA10 software were used.<br /> Two themes were obtained in the assessment of interviews and analysis of data: 1) Supportive relief; 2) Therapeutic<br /> support. Results: Some of the participants highlighted the role of social and family support in coping with the disease,<br /> and considered social communication and continued support in the form of empathic relationship as a turning point<br /> in their lives. The absence of a fertility specialist in the cancer treatment system was the main complaint of most<br /> participants. The results showed that receiving support from family and the healthcare system is the most important<br /> perceived priorities in breast cancer patients. Conclusion: The results of this study show the importance of social support<br /> as a perceived priority in breast cancer patients to improve their quality of life. Development and reinforcement of the<br /> supportive network seem to be essential to provide the best possible help to these patients.