« Le cancer, ce n’est pas juste une histoire de maladie » : l’expérience du cancer du sein à la lumière des métaphores des patientes
“Cancer Is Not Just about a Disease”: the Experience of Breast Cancer in the Light of Patients’ Metaphors
Abstract
The aim of this study is to better understand the experience of breast cancer through the analysis of the metaphors in the narratives of women with breast cancer. The blogs of two women were selected and processed according to an interpretative phenomenological analysis. This analysis highlights three metaphors in light of which these women seemed to understand their experience: the body as a medical battlefield, the fragmented body, and the cancer journey. These findings underline the violent changes in the boundaries of the body and the subject that can occur during cancer treatment, as well as the need to integrate this experience to one’s existence, instead of fighting it. This study also addresses the relationship between metaphors, meaning, and the experience of cancer.
Résumé
L’objectif de cette étude qualitative est de mieux comprendre l’expérience du cancer du sein à partir d’une analyse des métaphores présentes dans les récits de femmes atteintes d’un cancer du sein. Les blogs de deux femmes ont été sélectionnés puis analysés selon une approche phénomé- nologique interprétative. Notre analyse met de l’avant trois métaphores à la lumière desquelles ces femmes semblaient vivre et saisir leur expérience du cancer du sein : le corps comme champ de bataille médical, le corps morcelé et le chemin de la maladie. Ces résultats indiquent, d’une part, la violente atteinte des barrières du corps et du sujet dans la maladie cancéreuse, d’autre part, la nécessité pour le sujet d’effectuer un travail psychique pour intégrer cette expé- rience à son existence, au lieu de la combattre. L’étude apporte aussi des éléments de réflexions sur les métaphores en tant que vecteurs de sens de l’expérience du cancer.
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