Godfrey, M orcid.org/0000-0002-2408-534X, Price, S and Long, AF (2018) Unveiling the Maelstrom of the Early Breast Cancer Trajectory. Qualitative Health Research, 28 (4). pp. 572-586. ISSN 1049-7323
Abstract
Length and complexity of illness and treatment in early breast cancer mean that the acute phase may extend over months. Employing concepts of ‘trajectory’ and ‘work’ from chronic illness, we explored the temporality of the illness experience for women as it unfolded from diagnosis through acute treatment. We performed multiple, qualitative interviews with 14 women at critical points in their first year post-diagnosis. We differentiated between sub-phases of the acute breast cancer trajectory: becoming a person with breast cancer: a turning point; first steps in treatment: struggling to protect self-concept; being and feeling ill: ‘cure’ as suffering; and conditional ‘recovering’: an uncertain future. Each sub-phase represented the distinctive context in which illness management took place with consequences for the work women and those close to them engaged in, to manage the practical, emotional, relational and existential demands of an illness that intruded every aspect of their lives.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2017 . This is an author produced version of a paper published in Qualitative Health Research. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | breast cancer; trajectory; emotion work; uncertainty; acute; longitudinal; Western Europe |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Academic Unit of Elderly Care and Rehabilitation (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Nov 2017 12:24 |
Last Modified: | 12 Mar 2018 16:29 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/1049732317746378 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:124344 |