Relationships with Family Members When a Woman Caring for a Family Member Becomes Ill: From the Narratives of Women Who have Experienced Breast Cancer

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the changes and problems that occur in family relationships when a woman in a family caring role becomes ill. Gender perspectives are adopted in the analysis. The narratives of four women who have experienced breast cancer, a common disease for women in their 30s to 50s, were analyzed. The “work” perspective discussed by Anselm Strauss was adopted to discuss who reconfigures or does not reconfigure the “normal” work of running a household, and how “normal” family life is maintained. As a result, two problems were identified: first, women who care for their families must continue to carry the “housework” even when they are sick, and second, they face a strong conflict between being sick and being a mother.