“You Can’t Influence Illness, But You Can Influence Everything Else”: Women’s Diverse Experiences of Important Resilience Aspects in the Context of Breast Cancer

Summary, in English

Resilience comprises positive adaptation to stress and has been extensively studied in the context of breast cancer. Nevertheless, specific experiences of breast cancer survivors in relation to resilience are unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the diverse experiences of important resilience aspects in breast cancer survivors. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 breast cancer survivors residing in Sweden. We used thematic analysis to analyze the data. We identified three themes relevant for resilience, each containing several subthemes: “I will try to keep the spirits up”: Struggling with agency in the face of uncontrollability, “You know that you are not alone”: Social support and collective survivorship for better and for worse, and “I try to leave that behind me”: Conceptualizing cancer as a closed chapter or a constant. Thus, having agency in relation to one’s thoughts, feelings, treatment, health, and daily functioning, having support from others, and conceptualizing breast cancer as a closed chapter were interpreted as important aspects of resilience.

• Author: Katarina Velickovic; Per Johnsson; Johanna Månsson; Tove Lundberg
• Department/s: LUCC: Lund University Cancer Centre; Proactive Integrated Care; Department of Psychology; Paediatrics (Lund)
• Publishing year: 2024-10-22
• Language: English
• Pages: 1-16
• Publication/Series: SAGE Open
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 4
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241292710
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Topic: Applied Psychology
• Keywords: resilience; breast cancer; reflexive thematic analysis
• Status: Published
• Research group: Proactive Integrated Care
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 2158-2440