Psychosocial perspectives of the partners of breast cancer patients treated with a mastectomy: an analysis of personal narratives.

The family members of cancer patients play a central role as caregivers. This study reports on the perspectives of men whose wives underwent a mastectomy because of breast cancer. This qualitative research used a narrative analysis method, and 17 men were interviewed. Five main themes emerged from the analysis of the narratives: initial reactions to the diagnosis, involvement in caregiving, support received, influence of breast cancer on the couples' relationships, and evaluation of care provided by the institution. The findings indicated the existence of substantive evidence that the spouses attended to and followed the recommendations of healthcare providers on ways to care for their wives, including their emotional demands and care needs. In this sense, the healthcare professionals should interact with a patient's primary caregiver, take the family dynamics and the caregiver's personal characteristics into account, and systematically consider and include the needs of the patients' caregivers in the entire healthcare process.