Abstract:Background: Cancer occurs during one in 1000-5000 of the approximately 6 million yearly US pregnancies identified by the American Pregnancy Association. Although a newly diagnosed cancer is associated with substantial distress, little is known about cancer's emotional impact on women when diagnosed during pregnancy, and no studies have been conducted on the subject.Objective: The Cancer and Pregnancy Registry was developed by Elyce H. Cardonick MD, specialist in Maternal and Fetal Medicine and Associate Profes… Show more
“…Karen’s anguish is complicated by her recognition that her four-year-old son needed his mother; she did not imply that he deserved any blame for her quandary. Her continued distress is consistent with what has been found in other women advised to have an abortion after a diagnosis of breast cancer [46]. …”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 83%
“…Women confront difficult decisions about the life of the fetus, their own life, and what it might mean for their families [45]. The diagnosis can cause severe emotional distress that can last for years, especially if, among other things, women are advised to have an abortion [46]. When 17 women in Australia were interviewed about their experiences of health care after being diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy, they reported particularly disliking the insistence by some clinicians that abortion is the only rational response to cancer [47].…”
BackgroundA breast cancer diagnosis and an abortion can each be pivotal moments in a woman’s life. Research on abortion and breast cancer deals predominantly with women diagnosed during pregnancy who might be advised to have an abortion. The other—discredited but persistent—association is that abortions cause breast cancer. The aim here was to understand some of the ways in which women themselves might experience the convergence of abortion and breast cancer.MethodsAmong 50 women recruited from the Australian Breast Cancer Family Study and interviewed in depth about what it meant to have a breast cancer diagnosis before the age of 41, five spontaneously told of having or contemplating an abortion. The transcripts of these five women were analysed to identify what abortion meant in the context of breast cancer, studying each woman’s account as an individual “case” and interpreting it within narrative theory.ResultsIt was evident that each woman understood abortion as playing a different role in her life. One reported an abortion that she did not link to her cancer, the second was relieved not to have to abort a mid-treatment pregnancy, the third represented abortion as saving her life by making her cancer identifiable, the fourth grieved an abortion that had enabled her to begin chemotherapy, and the fifth believed that her cancer was caused by an earlier abortion.ConclusionsThe women’s accounts illustrate the different meanings of abortion in women’s lives, with concomitant need for diverse support, advice, and information.
“…Karen’s anguish is complicated by her recognition that her four-year-old son needed his mother; she did not imply that he deserved any blame for her quandary. Her continued distress is consistent with what has been found in other women advised to have an abortion after a diagnosis of breast cancer [46]. …”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 83%
“…Women confront difficult decisions about the life of the fetus, their own life, and what it might mean for their families [45]. The diagnosis can cause severe emotional distress that can last for years, especially if, among other things, women are advised to have an abortion [46]. When 17 women in Australia were interviewed about their experiences of health care after being diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy, they reported particularly disliking the insistence by some clinicians that abortion is the only rational response to cancer [47].…”
BackgroundA breast cancer diagnosis and an abortion can each be pivotal moments in a woman’s life. Research on abortion and breast cancer deals predominantly with women diagnosed during pregnancy who might be advised to have an abortion. The other—discredited but persistent—association is that abortions cause breast cancer. The aim here was to understand some of the ways in which women themselves might experience the convergence of abortion and breast cancer.MethodsAmong 50 women recruited from the Australian Breast Cancer Family Study and interviewed in depth about what it meant to have a breast cancer diagnosis before the age of 41, five spontaneously told of having or contemplating an abortion. The transcripts of these five women were analysed to identify what abortion meant in the context of breast cancer, studying each woman’s account as an individual “case” and interpreting it within narrative theory.ResultsIt was evident that each woman understood abortion as playing a different role in her life. One reported an abortion that she did not link to her cancer, the second was relieved not to have to abort a mid-treatment pregnancy, the third represented abortion as saving her life by making her cancer identifiable, the fourth grieved an abortion that had enabled her to begin chemotherapy, and the fifth believed that her cancer was caused by an earlier abortion.ConclusionsThe women’s accounts illustrate the different meanings of abortion in women’s lives, with concomitant need for diverse support, advice, and information.
“…This article takes a second look at two recent studies focusing on the psychosocial impact of cancer diagnosed during pregnancy. The first study, conducted by Henry et al (), quantitatively examined the psychological impact of cancer diagnosed during pregnancy and uncovered determinants of long‐term distress. The second study, conducted by Ives, Musiello, and Sanders (), provided the qualitative perspective by exploring the unique experiences for women diagnosed with gestational breast cancer defined as “breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy or in the 12 months following the completion of pregnancy” (p. 754).…”
Section: Box Levels Of Evidencementioning
confidence: 99%
“…Henry et al () intended to address this knowledge gap and investigated factors associated with long‐term distress for these women. These researchers used the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's definition of distress, “multifactorial unpleasant emotional experience of a psychological (cognitive, behavioral, emotional), social and/or spiritual nature that may interfere with the ability to cope effectively with cancer, its physical symptoms, and its treatment” (Henry et al., , p. 447). More than 50 percent of the women remained clinically distressed nearly 4 years after diagnosis…”
“…The epidemiology, medical management and psychological consequences of GBC have been described (Amant et al, 2013;Barnes & Newman, 2007;Framarino-Dei-Malatesta et al, 2014;Henry, Huang, Sproule & Cardonick, 2012;Ives, Musiello & Saunders, 2012;Janni et al, 2006;Zagouri et al, 2013). However, there is limited evidence about how women who are diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy experience the cancer-related and maternity care they receive or whether it meets their needs.…”
Gestational breast cancer (GBC) presents many challenges for women and the clinicians who care for them. The aim of this study was to explore the health care experiences of women diagnosed with GBC to inform and improve clinical care of women in this predicament. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 women who had been diagnosed with GBC in the previous 5 years. The overarching themes for perceived quality of care were "communication" and "comprehensive care." "Communication" had two sub themes: "interdisciplinary communication" (the way health professionals from different disciplines communicated with each other about the management of the woman's care) and "patient communication" (how they communicated this to the woman). The "comprehensive care" theme incorporated three sub themes: "the spirit" (psychological care); "the mind" (information provision); and "the body" (management of treatment side effects). Women's own accounts of positive and negative experiences of GBC care provide unique and specific insights which improve understanding of their concerns and needs. The findings can inform advances in quality and efficacy of clinical care; offer guidance for obstetricians, oncologists and allied health professionals about the needs of women diagnosed with GBC and how care can be optimised; and inform the development of resources to assist women and their families.
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.
