Experiences of young mastectomised Colombian women: An ethnographic study

Abstract

Objective: To explore the experiences of a group of young women in relation to the reconstruction of their breasts after mastectomy.

Method: Focused ethnography, performed in the League against Cancer- Huila Section (Colombia). Through casual sampling oriented by criteria, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight young women (diagnosed at 45 years or earlier) with breast cancer (reconstructed or not reconstructed after mastectomy) until saturation of discourse. Data collection was carried out between August-November 2017, after the endorsement of the Ethics Committee and the consent of the participants. Data was analysed using the thematic analysis technique after being anonymised.

Results: Three issues emerged in the women's discourses: The social stigma of being a young woman with breast cancer; learning to live with a body transformed by disease and treatment, and surviving, which is the most important thing.

Conclusions: Being a young woman, and suffering from breast cancer implies a diversity of changes that permanently alter the lives of women and their bodies. Women prioritise survival in order to take care of others over breast reconstruction. At a healthcare level, the cultural and gender perspective must be incorporated to design individualised nursing interventions that contribute to better care.

Keywords: Breast neoplasms; Enfermería; Investigación cualitativa; Mammaplasty; Mamoplastia; Neoplasias de la mama; Nursing; Qualitative research.