Impacto do grupo de suporte em mulheres acometidas por câncer de mama

Abstract

Breast cancer diagnosis generally leads to emotional impact due to fear of bodily changes, fear of death or due to multiple losses in the emotional, social and material spheres. Given the relevance of the disease there is the need of a set of care measures to be taken with the patients which allows them to be situated in their new condition. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of the Support Group on the psychosocial repercussions of the breast cancer diagnosis. Method: nine women with a breast cancer diagnosis received weekly assistance at the Support Group, for 4 months, at the University Hospital. The study is qualitative and longitudinal. Before and after the group intervention there were interviews following a semi-structured script aiming to compare the possible changes pre and post group. The analysis of the material took into consideration two focus levels: individual and group. The Discourse Analysis, the psychoanalytical clinic and the group practices are the basis of the interpretation. Results: the results found that the fear and ghosts associated with the disease and with death were lightened; the anguish and depressive feelings were shown, mainly by the hair loss and by the fear of recurrence and of death; finally, the work made it possible to lighten certain psychological defenses, which make the elaboration work more difficult.