South African Women's Experiences of Breast Cancer: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

摘要

Background: Breast cancer (BC) patients have unique psychological and social experiences. Currently, South Africa has limited resources in dealing with the psychosocial aspect of breast cancer care. Therefore, many South African BC treatment centers lack counseling services despite the need for patients to access psychosocial support. Method: We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with seven women attending a public BC clinic at a major tertiary hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants were interviewed to elicit information about their psychosocial experiences pertaining to diagnosis and treatment and how they constructed meaning of the experience. We are conducting an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of the interviews. IPA is a dynamic process emphasizing the importance of the researcher as active interpreter of the interpretations of the participants. IPA gives experience primacy. We are using IPA to understand how participants made sense of their experiences of BC.