Process of Decision to Be Adopted by Patients with Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer to Tell Their Elementary School Children About the Illness

Abstract

Abstract

The aim of this study was to visualize the decision-making process of patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer, from cancer diagnosis to the time that they tell their elementary school children about their illness, and to discuss the state of nursing support when telling their children about their disease. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 14 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer who had children in elementary school. A qualitative inductive analysis was performed using a modified grounded theory approach. The process of telling oneʼs child is an experience that involves the patientʼs role and responsibilities as a mother, with the perception that they are the only mother that their children have, along with still being in shock themselves by the cancer diagnosis. This process is affected by factors that encourage or deter them from playing a maternal role. Maintaining the usual communication pattern by taking advantage of their experience in raising children allowed them to convey the information to their children. It is necessary to provide support, in order to identify early on the factors that would encourage them to play a maternal role and also to reinforce encouraging factors. In addition, the results suggested a need to establish a nursing care system to allow the patients to recognize the significance of being a mother, to understand their childrenʼs perception of cancer, and to tell their children about the disease with confidence.