Life in families with wives and mothers after mastectomy

Abstract

Considering that illness in one member of the family can affect the others, and that mutilating surgery like mastectomy can affect the family's self-image and relations, this study sought to understand how families cope with living with a wife or mother who has undergone mastectomy. The methodological approach was qualitative and descriptive. Data were collected through interviews with family members (husbands and/or children) of post-mastectomy women who were participating in a self-help group. The process of analyzing and interpreting the data was based on content analysis. This resulted in a category whose theme is the disease as a way of promoting changes and strengthening family ties, highlighting the impact of the diagnosis, where the family and woman feel emotionally shocked and shaken and need time to regroup, make decisions, and face the diagnosis; in which the family seeks to elaborate strategies to reorganize the family structure in order to stay united and seek strength and hope to overcome moments of uncertainty.