Coming to Grips with Breast Cancer: The Spouse's Experience with His Wife's First Six Months

Abstract

This study examines the experiences of 48 spouses of wives newly diagnosed with local or regional breast cancer. Their reported experiences were organized into the core construct of coming to grips reflected by four domains: (1) feeling nailed by the breast cancer, (2) changing us, (3) taking care of me, and (4) making things work. Prior studies have underestimated the extent to which the assumptive world and day-to-day lives of spouses are shattered by the diagnosis of breast cancer and the work they do to guess how to be supportive to their wives. Interventions are needed that directly assist spouses add to their ways of managing the intrusion of their wife's breast cancer in their lives.

KEYWORDS:

• breast cancer
• spouse
• qualitative analysis
• impact on family
• spouses

Acknowledgments

Research and preparation of this manuscript were supported by the Oncology Nurses Foundation Research Grant and two grants from the National Cancer Institute, NIH (R01-CA-55347, R01-CA-78-424, R01-CA-114-561). The authors acknowledge feedback on an earlier version of the manuscript by Laurel L. Northouse and the contributions of members of the Family Home Visitation Study (alphabetical): Maryanne Bletscher, Sue Bodurtha, Maryanne Bozette, Patricia Buchsel, Susan M. Casey, Sharon C. Firsich, Lori Girouard, Mary A. Hammond, Blanche Knobs, Gail Houck, Huei-Fang Chen, Judy Kornell, Shana Lovitt, Colleen Lucas, Jean Moseley, Sandra Underhill Motzer, Connie V. Rousch, Marguerite Samms, Mary Ellen Shands, Maye Thompson, Susan Turner, Lynn Wheeler, and Grechen Zunkel.