The Challenges Faced by Women After Mastectomy and Their Coping Mechanisms
Otuh, Caroline Ebere (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025121637074
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025121637074
Tiivistelmä
The most common cancer among women globally is breast cancer. Mastectomy, which involves the surgical removal of the whole or part of the breast, is a treatment frequently used in breast cancer management. This thesis is a study conducted to explore the challenges women face after mastectomy and the coping mechanisms they adopt to deal with their new situation. Katharine Kolcaba’s theory of comfort was adopted which covers the three types of comfort, relief, ease and transcendence which serves as a guide for the study.
The study was performed in the form of qualitative research using a semi-structured interview. Five (5) female participants who had had a mastectomy between the ages of 34 and 56 years old with a mean age of 46 were interviewed. The interview comprised of open-ended questions and was based on an interview guide that outlines key themes and potential follow-up questions. All eligible participants received, reviewed and signed an informed consent electronically. Data analysis was done using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic method involving in-depth reading, code generation and theme allocation, capturing the challenges and coping mechanisms of women after mastectomy.
All the participants faced physical, emotional and psychological challenges to varying degrees as well as challenges with the medical and surgical process. There was a significant shortcoming in care provided, starting with inadequate preoperative information to postoperative complication management. There is need for personalized and repeated patient preoperative and postoperative information and the level of comprehension be evaluated. This can only be achieved with collaborative effort of the patients, nurses and other health professionals. The coping mechanisms adopted by the participants included mental reframing and acceptance, participation in counselling and support groups, engagement through exercise and documentation of their recovery journey as well as Spirituality and volunteering.
This study increases awareness and understanding of this topic and equips nurses and healthcare professionals with extra knowledge to better support and help women manage and potentially overcome these post-mastectomy challenges.
The study was performed in the form of qualitative research using a semi-structured interview. Five (5) female participants who had had a mastectomy between the ages of 34 and 56 years old with a mean age of 46 were interviewed. The interview comprised of open-ended questions and was based on an interview guide that outlines key themes and potential follow-up questions. All eligible participants received, reviewed and signed an informed consent electronically. Data analysis was done using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic method involving in-depth reading, code generation and theme allocation, capturing the challenges and coping mechanisms of women after mastectomy.
All the participants faced physical, emotional and psychological challenges to varying degrees as well as challenges with the medical and surgical process. There was a significant shortcoming in care provided, starting with inadequate preoperative information to postoperative complication management. There is need for personalized and repeated patient preoperative and postoperative information and the level of comprehension be evaluated. This can only be achieved with collaborative effort of the patients, nurses and other health professionals. The coping mechanisms adopted by the participants included mental reframing and acceptance, participation in counselling and support groups, engagement through exercise and documentation of their recovery journey as well as Spirituality and volunteering.
This study increases awareness and understanding of this topic and equips nurses and healthcare professionals with extra knowledge to better support and help women manage and potentially overcome these post-mastectomy challenges.