Despite some recognition that Aboriginal women who have experienced breast cancer may have unique health needs, little research has documented the experiences of Aboriginal women from their perspective. Our main objective was to explore and to begin to make visible Aboriginal women's experiences with breast cancer using the qualitative research technique, photovoice. The research was based in Saskatchewan, Canada and participants were Aboriginal women who had completed breast cancer treatment. Although Aboriginal women cannot be viewed as a homogeneous group, participants indicated two areas of priority for health-care: (i) Aboriginal identity and traditional beliefs, although expressed in diverse ways, are an important dimension of breast cancer experiences and have relevance for health-care; and (ii) there is a need for multidimensional support which addresses larger issues of racism, power and socioeconomic inequality. We draw upon a critical and feminist conception of visuality to interrogate and disrupt the dominant visual terrain (both real and metaphorical) where Aboriginal women are either invisible or visible in disempowering ways. Aboriginal women who have experienced breast cancer must be made visible within health-care in a way that recognizes their experiences situated within the structural context of marginalization through colonial oppression.
Breast cancer survivors can anticipate a number of years of paid labor market participation. Therefore, the link between breast cancer survivorship and productivity deserves serious consideration. The hypothesis guiding this study is that arm disability, particularly pain and range of motion limitations, are important explanatory variables in survivors’ loss of productivity. The study investigates the association between productivity and arm disability over time. The longitudinal data are drawn from survivors in four geographical locations in Canada. Regression results indicate that survivors with arm pain, 2.5 to 3 years postsurgery, are almost 8 times more likely to experience a loss in productivity compared to those survivors without pain, and those with some range of motion limitations are 4 times more likely to experience productivity loss 2.5 to 3 years postsurgery compared to their counterparts without limitations. More than 40% of survivors begin to or continue to experience productivity loss as long as 30 to 36 months after surgery and that the loss in productivity is primarily due to two forms of arm disability: pain and range-of-motion limitations. These findings highlight the importance of rehabilitation programming for breast cancer survivors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.