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The purpose of this study is to describe lived experiences of being ill with breast cancer for mothers with dependent children. A special focus is to explore meanings of desolation and consolation, and meanings of transforming the consolation. Stories of Swedish women who took part in a supportive network for young women with breast cancer were interpreted phenomenological-hermeneutically as transforming desolation into consolation. This means a changed direction in the longing and desires of the woman from outward to inward, from others to self, from emphasis on past and delimited presence to presence and future, and ending up in balancing between these opposites. Implications for women with breast cancer and their need for support are reflected upon.
We express our hearty thanks to the women who participated in the study for generously welcoming us to the network and for openly sharing their stories with us. We have taken the zest for life you have shown us to our hearts. Thanks to the clinical nurse specialist Lena Niklasson Wiberg and clinical researcher Karin Ahlberg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, for their valuable assistance and support during planning and fieldwork. Thanks to Professor Catherine Kohler Riessman for constructive critique on an earlier draft, and Ms. Anita Shenoi for instructive support and revision of the English language. The fieldwork was financially supported by the King Gustav V Clinic Centre Foundation, Gothenburg, Sweden.
The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee at Göteborg University, Sweden (Ö238-01).