Abstract

HERRERO-HAHN, Raquel  and  GUARDIA-MANCILLA, Plácido. "Me, onwards": a battle against advanced breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy. Index Enferm [online]. 2016, vol.25, n.4, pp.278-282. ISSN 1699-5988.

Breast cancer has a high incidence in women, as well as a high survival rate if it is diagnosed in early stages. It is the most common cancer in pregnant women and in the year following childbirth. The objective of this study is to present the first-person experience of a woman with advanced breast cancer over her illness process. With this purpose a biographical account was performed through an in-depth interview. The text narrates the illness experience of a woman diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy in terms of the difficulty experienced to get a diagnosis, the treatment and its side effects and the disease progression. The text also describes the suffering related to the disease and how important it was for her to receive emotional support in order to be able to continue her battle against cancer.

Keywords : Breast neoplasms; Neoplasm metastasis; Pregnancy; Uncertainty; Social support.