Educação, saúde e cuidado de si : um estudo sobre mulheres com câncer de mama em tratamento em uma clínica oncológica do Vale do Jacuí.

Abstract

This master's thesis aims to understand how women diagnosed with breast cancer build and (re)signify their self-care, based on their experiences from education and health actions, after cancer treatment. The specific objectives are to analyze how these women (re)signify the care of themselves, after being diagnosed with the disease, and to discuss the relationship between Education and Health and SelfCare, in the perspective of these women. The methodology used is characterized as a qualitative type, with an emphasis on case studies found in life stories. The study was carried out with patients from an Oncology Clinic located in a city in the Vale do Jacuí region, and four mastectomized women who completed their cancer treatment in 2018 were listed. As data collection instruments, observations and semi-structured interviews were used. The data were collected and analyzed from the participants’ reports and presented according to their life stories. The results show that the woman affected by breast cancer has her life transformed, acquiring a new perspective of what it is to be a woman. The changes caused by the disease often compromise the way that each woman faces her concerns, which, sometimes, under normal health conditions, go unnoticed. When faced with weaknesses, as in the case of being affected by breast cancer, a new look emerges for them, consisting of (re)signification for new meanings and possibilities from their life stories.