PSAU - Tese de doutoramento
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- The "crab" and the (des)construction of identity : A phenomenological approachPublication . Laranjeira, Carlos; Leão, Paula Ponce de; Leal, Isabel PereiraGynecological cancer is linked with special adaptation needs, although there is a scarcity of research on women’s experience of cancer survival, particularly in relation to qualitative research that focuses on the meaning of such an experience. The numbers of women surviving gynecological cancer are increasing, which means research on survivorship is crucial. While this concept is integrated in modern oncology literature, we found no consensus about its definition. Some authors emphasized a biomedical approach, using objective data, like the number of surviving years. Others included other perspectives related to individual characteristics and disease trajectory The purpose of the thesis was to illuminate and understand the lifeworlds of women with gynecological cancer using a hermeneutic existential phenomenological approach to research. A purposive sample of Portuguese women was recruited, and semi-structured phenomenological interviews were conducted to enable personal disclosure and expressions of the women’s lived experiences. Data took place over a period of eight months and the participants were interviewed in-depth three times. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis of the interview transcripts was conducted according to Ricoeur's theory of interpretation. Emergent themes were structured around van Manen’s (1997) schema for existential reflection, which considers the relationship between phenomena and four universal themes: lived-body, lived-other, lived-time and lived-space. Ten participants, who defined themselves as survivors of cancer, reported stories of positive and negative change complete with doubts and fears, as well as renewed relationships and altered priorities. As part of their survivorship lived experience, most of the women underwent a quiet deconstruction and reconstruction process to arrive at a restored sense of who they are. A rich description of the lived experience of cancer survival is described as the stunning transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. This study presents those attributes that are valued by cancer survivors as crucial and important for the support of their well-being and functioning. The outcomes of the study suggest implications for health professionals in promoting existential care to the women by listening and taking into account their concerns.