Breast Cancer Survivor’s Experiences: A Qualitative Study

Living with cancer has somatic and emotional impact on women and cause severe complications and challenges in women’s life. Aim: The aim of this qualitative study is to explore in-depth recognition of the experience of Iranian women living with breast cancer.Method: This study was conducted with qualitative approach and content analysis. Women who referred to the Center of Omid hospital for receiving chemotherapy due to breast cancer participated in the study. A purposive sampling was conducted. Data collection and in-depth unstructured interviews were carried out. Data collection continued until data saturation. All interviews were taped and recorded and then constant comparative analysis method was used. The MaxQDA software was performed to manage the data. Results: Four major core themes explaining the women’s lived experiences arose from the interviews: including the expectations , change and fears . Subthems incuding: need to family support, need to social support and spiritual need emerged for expectations; change in role, self perception, values, health perception in changes and fear of dying, frustration and losing the family in fears them. Conclusion: Awareness of the experiences of women with breast cancer helps them to be able to recognize barriers of the coping process in patients.