Corporeity in cancer illness among cancer patients under chemotherapy: a qualitative study
Abstract
Introduction: the diagnosis of cancer is already full of social stigmas, and chemotherapy has the potential to influence this experience further negatively, because when experiencing adverse reactions, feelings such as anxiety arise, anxiety and fear that awaken a recent look at one’s own bodily existence. Objective: analyzing the relationships of the body with illness among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Method: a qualitative study with the theoretical framework of culture and corporeity, conducted between May 2018 and June 2019 in a reference hospital for oncological care in the southern region of Brazil. Sixty-three patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy were selected according to intentional sampling. The interviews were conducted individually and analyzed according to the inductive thematic analysis. Results: after the analysis, four categories emerged: "The body signals cancer", "The body reacts to chemotherapy" and "The careless body" and "The religious/spiritual body". Conclusion: the diagnosis of cancer became a connector between the self and illness. The beginning of the treatment directs attention to a careless body that awakens vigilance of a sick body of multiple representations, and that interprets its existence and the impacts of treatment on the social, spiritual, and cultural self.
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