Chemotherapy and the Inner Journey: Interpreting Breast Cancer Patients’ Lived Meanings of Treatment Side Effects
Main Article Content
Abstract
Understanding the emotional and existential dimensions of chemotherapy is essential to improving patient-centered oncology care. This study explores how breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy construct personal meaning from their treatment experiences.
Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) framework, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ten women who had completed at least two chemotherapy cycles. Data were thematically analyzed to capture patterns of meaning-making.
Four key themes emerged: (1) the tension between fear and hope, (2) embodied vulnerability, (3) spiritual and existential reframing of suffering, and (4) trust in medical professionals. Participants described side effects as both distressing and symbolic of therapeutic progress, leading to shifts in self-perception, resilience, and identity.
Chemotherapy was experienced not only as a biomedical procedure but as a transformative journey. Integrating patients’ voices into care can strengthen therapeutic alliances, enhance emotional adherence, and support holistic strategies that address psychological, spiritual, and cultural dimensions alongside symptom managemen
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Brown, L. C., Graham, J., Fisher, D., Adams, R., Seligmann, J., Seymour, M., Kaplan, R., Yates, E., Parmar, M., Richman, S. D., Quirke, P., Butler, R., Shiu, K., Middleton, G., Samuel, L., Wilson, R. H., & Maughan, T. S. (2022). Experiences of running a stratified medicine adaptive platform trial: Challenges and lessons learned from 10 years of the FOCUS4 trial in metastatic colorectal cancer. Clinical Trials, 19(2), 146–157. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/17407745211069879
Castellino, S., Lareau, N. M., & Groseclose, M. R. (2021). The emergence of imaging mass spectrometry in drug discovery and development: Making a difference by driving decision making. Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 56(8). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1002/jms.4717
Cona, M. S., Mancuso, A. M., Russo, A., Rota, S., Piva, S., & La Verde, N. (2022). Fight against cancer in Italy: What patients, caregivers and healthy citizens think about care delivery from National Health System. European Journal of Cancer Care, 31(6). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.13763
Drown, L., Amberbir, A., Teklu, A. M., Zelalem, M., Tariku, A., Tadesse, Y., Gebeyehu, S., Semu, Y., Ntawukuriryayo, J. T., VanderZanden, A., Binagwaho, A., & Hirschhorn, L. R. (2024). Reducing the equity gap in under-5 mortality through an innovative community health program in Ethiopia: An implementation research study. BMC Pediatrics, 23(Suppl 1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-023-04388-1
Heck, C. J., Kripke, K., Dam, A., Torres-Rueda, S., Bozzani, F., Obermeyer, C., Yohannes, K., Deacon, J., Meyers, K., Quigee, D., Wiant, S., Forsythe, S., Malati, C., Larson, M., Sobieszczyk, M. E., & Castor, D. (2024). Leveraging international stakeholders’ experiences with oral PrEP costs to accelerate implementation of the monthly dapivirine vaginal ring: A qualitative study. Health Research Policy and Systems, 22(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-024-01240-5
Kasande, M., Nakidde, G., Taremwa, M., Tusimiirwe, H., Lamulatu, K., Amanyire, M., & Kabami, J. (2022). Experiences and Perceptions on Community Client-Led ART Delivery (CCLADS) Model of Antiretroviral (ART) Delivery: Patients’ and Providers’ Perspectives in South Western Uganda. HIV/AIDS - Research and Palliative Care, 14, 539–551. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.2147/HIV.S387190
Kavanaugh, M. L., & Zolna, M. R. (2023). Where Do Reproductive-Aged Women Want to Get Contraception? Journal of Women’s Health, 32(6), 657–669. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2022.0406
Klein, K., Stolk, P., Tellner, P., Acha, V., Montagne, S., & Stöckert, I. (2022). Regulatory Flexibilities and Guidances for Addressing the Challenges of COVID-19 in the EU: What Can We Learn from Company Experiences? Therapeutic Innovation and Regulatory Science, 56(2), 366–377. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43441-022-00383-3
Mendoza, J. A., Lasco, G., Renedo, A., Palileo-Villanueva, L., Seguin, M., Palafox, B., Amit, A. M. L., Pepito, V., McKee, M., & Balabanova, D. (2022). (De)constructing ‘therapeutic itineraries’ of hypertension care: A qualitative study in the Philippines. Social Science and Medicine, 300. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114570
Pumthong, G., Nathason, A., Tuseewan, M., Pinthong, P., Klangprapun, S., Thepsuriyanon, D., & Kotta, P. (2015). Complementary and alternative medicines for diabetes mellitus management in ASEAN countries. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 23(4), 617–625. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2015.01.016
Sarfo, F. S., Akassi, J., Kyem, G., Adamu, S., Awuah, D., Kantanka, O.-S., & Ovbiagele, B. (2018). Long-Term Outcomes of Stroke in a Ghanaian Outpatient Clinic. Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 27(4), 1090–1099. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2017.11.017
Setty, A. R., & Sigal, L. H. (2005). Herbal medications commonly used in the practice of rheumatology: Mechanisms of action, efficacy, and side effects. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, 34(6), 773–784. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2005.01.011
Sirois, F. M. (2008). Motivations for consulting complementary and alternative medicine practitioners: A comparison of consumers from 1997-8 and 2005. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 8. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-8-16
Welz, A. N., Emberger-Klein, A., & Menrad, K. (2018). Why people use herbal medicine: Insights from a focus-group study in Germany. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 18(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-018-2160-6
Zhang, W.-L., Zhu, L., & Jiang, J.-G. (2014). Active ingredients from natural botanicals in the treatment of obesity. Obesity Reviews, 15(12), 957–967. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12228