Confronto com a finitude: reformulações do sentido da vida em mulheres com câncer de mama

• Ano de defesa: 2016
• Autor(a) principal: Almeida, Gabriela Franco de
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Uberlândia; Brasil; Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde
• Palavras-chave em Português: Ciências médicas; Mamas - Câncer; Logoterapia; Finito; Câncer de mama; Cuidado de si; Finitude; Tempo presente; Breast cancer; Logotherapy; Taking care of oneself; Present time; CNPQ::CIENCIAS DA SAUDE::MEDICINA
• Link de acesso: https://repositorio.ufu.br/handle/123456789/18121; http://doi.org/10.14393/ufu.di.2016.82

According to Frankl, in the same way that man is formed by biological and psychological dimensions, he is also formed by a spiritual dimension. Spirituality is determined in this study as a human aspect related to the pursuit of the purpose of life, which goes beyond beliefs and religious rituals, also involving the transcendence of material aspects. The question about the purpose of life seems to be closely related to human finitude and death appears as a catalyst for existence, being one of the prior conditions to having meaning in life. This study, of qualitative character, aimed to describe modifications of the purpose of life from the diagnosis of breast cancer in women, considered, initially, as a threat to life. A seven-question script was preelaborated and semi-structured interviews were carried out with four women, between 53 and 64 years old, during maintenance treatment. The data were considered through Content Analysis and discussed with contributions from Logotherapy. Categories were formed based on the repetition of themes and from implicit relevance. Two final categories are highlighted: sickness as an opportunity to take care of oneself and the experience of confronting cancer as being transformative in connection with the present time. Sickness allowed for taking better care of oneself, giving patients the choice of leading their lives and confronting their fight against cancer. From a Logotherapy perspective, the patient is requested to take a stand in giving new meaning to situations of suffering in personal development. The confrontation with finitude brought about changes related to time, making the present time more important. In conclusion, it is pointed out that through the patients’ experiences with breast cancer and confrontation with finitude, the opportunity was given for reformulations of meaning. As a question for future work propositions, one is urged to think about the emotional health condition of these women in their prior state to cancer, as well as religiosity before and after the apparent new meanings found.