Abstract
Background
Women with breast cancer (BC) are commonly confronted with others’ pity. However, there is limited information about pity in Iranian women with BC. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions, reactions, coping strategies, and consequences of pity among Iranian women with BC.
Methods
This qualitative study was carried out from March 2016 till October 2017. A purposive sample of 36 women with BC was selected with maximum variation from three health care centers in Alborz Province, Iran. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and analyzed using a conventional content-analysis approach.
Results
Our findings indicated that Iranian women with BC experienced received pity and perceived unusual attention from others as due to certain reasons. Others’ pity caused negative emotional reactions in them. They used self-protection strategies against others’ pity. The consequences of self-protection against pity were normalizing the patient’s flow of life and/or social isolation.
Conclusion
Pity is a serious psychosocial challenge in Iranian women with BC, with negative effects on quality of life. Therefore, pity should be considered in counseling and psychosocial screening of patients.
Acknowledgments
This study was part of a PhD dissertation in nursing, which was directly supervised by SMK. This study was supported and financially supported by the Research Administration of Tarbiat Modares University. We would like to thank the administration for their support, as well as BC patients for their participation.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.