| Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women (Greenlee, Hill-Harmon, Murray, & Thun, 2001). Beyond the prevalence rates of breast cancer are many issues that influence the social roles that women with breast cancer carry out both in their lives and within the health care system. Understanding women's social roles is complicated when looking at how women deal with being ill, how they navigate the health care relationship, what mediating factors or resources women utilize while going through this disease process, and what strategies women use to make decisions and share information.; The analysis of this data seeks to illuminate and gain a better understanding of: (1) the impact of being ‘ill’ on women's roles and role-sets, (2) the implication of mediating resources or factors on the patient's roles, statuses and experiences, (3) how women make decisions during the period from diagnosis through treatment, and (4) the impact of the patient-system relationship (system is defined as: physician, hospital, & insurance company) on women with breast cancer.; Thirty-three women with breast cancer were recruited and interviewed guided by a semi-structured open-ended interview schedule. All interviews were either audio taped or detailed notes were taken and then transferred to tape immediately after the interview. Interviews from this sample of convenience were conducted from May 1998–December 1998.; The results of this study provide insight into the varying levels of acceptance and struggle women have with their new sick role. These results also provide support that some women with breast cancer make choices that vary in the type of decision-making and that mediating resources reported by this group of women and the kinds of support they received were factors in their sick role process.; These findings enhance the understanding of the sick role experience for breast cancer patients by providing textual and statistical support to the changing nature of the disease and the impact these decisions have on the other roles encountered by women in the sick role. Overall, women were able to accept the new role of patient and take on their new responsibilities allocated to them in the status of patient. |
