Purpose/Objectives: To examine maternal parenting during the time when a mother is diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer from the mothers' and adolescent daughters' perspectives.
Research Approach: Empirical phenomenologic.
Setting: Sites in Indiana and Arizona.
Participants: 8 mothers and 1 of their adolescent daughters. The mothers were aged 37-46 years at the time of diagnosis, had stage 0-IV cancer, and had completed treatment 1-12 years earlier. Participants had one to four children ranging in age from 13-24 years at the time of the interview. Ages of the adolescent daughters at the time of diagnosis ranged from 10-15 years with an average of 13.5 years.
Methodologic Approach: An open-ended, audiotaped interview was conducted with each participant.
Findings: Six major theme categories were found: (a) a battle to be fought on many fronts—what is at stake if the battle is lost, (b) I tried to tell her, (c) standout moments in our family's cancer journey, (d) mobilizing to protect self while preserving parenting, (e) voices of fear, and (f) after treatment is over, you are not done.
Conclusions: Mothers set a high priority on parenting and experienced difficulty in setting priorities to meet their own needs and those of their families, including those of their adolescent daughters. Mothers need assistance learning ways to help their daughters through the breast cancer experience, particularly related to maintaining their relationship and communicating.
Interpretation: Mothers should be given assistance with strategies for realizing their own needs and finding positive ways to deal with the needs of their families. Nurses can play an integral part of this development.
References
American Cancer Society. (2007). Breast cancer facts and figures: 2007-2008. Atlanta, GA: Author.
Billhult, A., & Segesten, K. (2003). Strength of motherhood: Nonrecurrent breast cancer as experienced by mothers with dependent children. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 17(2), 122-128.
Boehmke, M.M., & Dickerson, S.S. (2005). Symptoms, symptom experiences, and symptom distress encountered by women with breast cancer undergoing current treatment modalities. Cancer Nursing, 28(5), 382-389.
Colaizzi, P.F. (1978). Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In R.S. Valle & M. King (Eds.), Existential-phenomenological alternatives for psychology (pp. 48-71). New York: Oxford University Press.
Cummings, E.M., & Davies, P.T. (1994). Maternal depression and child development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35(1), 73-112.
Davey, M., Gulish, L., Askew, J., Godett, K., & Childs, N. (2005). Adolescents coping with mom's breast cancer: Developing family intervention programs. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 31(2), 247-258.
Elmberger, E., Bolund, C., & Lutzen, K. (2000). Transforming the exhausting to energizing process of being a good parent in the face of cancer. Health Care for Women International, 21(6), 485-499.
Fitch, M.I., Bunston, T., & Elliot, M. (1999). When mom's sick: Changes in a mother's role and in the family after her diagnosis of cancer. Cancer Nursing, 22(1), 58-63.
Forrest, G., Plumb, C., Ziebland, S., & Stein, A. (2006). Breast cancer in the family—Children's perceptions of their mother's cancer and its initial treatment: Qualitative study. BMJ, 332(7548), 998-1003.
Goodman, S.H., & Brumley, H.E. (1990). Schizophrenic and depressed mothers: Relational deficits in parenting. Developmental Psychology, 26(1), 31-39.
Harpham, W.S. (1999). Resources for helping children whose parent (or other loved one) has cancer. Cancer Practice, 7(2), 96-99.
Kiebert, G.M., Hanneke, J., de Haes, C.J., Kievit, J., & van de Velde, C.J. (1990). Effect of perioperative chemotherapy on the quality of life of patients with early breast cancer. European Journal of Cancer, 26(10), 1038-1042.
Kliewer, W., Fearnow, M.D., & Miller, P.A. (1996). Coping socialization in middle childhood: Tests of maternal and paternal influences. Child Development, 67(5), 2339-2357.
Kristjanson, L.J., Chalmers, K.I., & Woodgate, R. (2004). Information and support needs of adolescent children of women with breast cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 31(1), 111-119.
Lewis, F.M., Casey, S.M., Brandt, P.A., Shands, M.E., & Zahlis, E.H. (2006). The Enhancing Connections Program: Pilot study of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for mothers and children affected by breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 15(6), 486-497.
Lewis, F.M., & Darby, E.L. (2003). Adolescent adjustment and maternal breast cancer: A test of the "facet hypothesis." Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 21(4), 81-104.
Lewis, F.M., & Hammond, M.A. (1992). Psychosocial adjustment of the family to breast cancer: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, 47(5), 194-200.
Lewis, F.M., & Hammond, M.A. (1996). The father's, mother's, and adolescent's functioning with breast cancer. Family Relations, 45(4), 456-465.
Lewis, F.M., Hammond, M.A., & Woods, N.F. (1993). The family's functioning with newly diagnosed breast cancer in the mother: The development of an exploratory model. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 16(4), 351-370.
Lewis, F.M., Woods, N.F., Hough, E.H., & Bensely, L.S. (1989). The family's functioning with chronic illness in the mother: The spouse's perspective. Social Science and Medicine, 29(11), 1261-1269.
Lewis, F.M., Zahlis, E.H., Shands, M.E., Sinsheimer, J.A., & Hammond, M.A. (1996). The functioning of single women with breast cancer and their school-aged children. Cancer Practice, 4(1), 15-24.
Longman, A.J., Braden, C.J., & Mishel, M.H. (1999). Side-effects burden, psychological adjustment, and life quality in women with breast cancer: Pattern of association over time. Oncology Nursing Forum, 26(5), 909-915.
Love, R.R., Leventhal, H., Easterling, D.V., & Nerenz, D.R. (1989). Side effects and emotional distress during cancer chemotherapy. Cancer, 63(3), 604-612.
Ohlen, J., & Holm, A.K. (2006). Transforming desolation into consolation: Being a mother with life-threatening breast cancer. Health Care for Women International, 27(1), 18-44.
Oiler, C. (1982). The phenomenological approach in nursing research. Nursing Research, 31(3), 178-181.
Panaccione, V.F., & Wahler, R.G. (1986). Child behavior, maternal depression, and social coercion as factors in the quality of child care. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14(2), 263-278.
Rayson, D. (2001). Adjuvant chemotherapy for women with young children: Our patients as parents. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 19(1), 279-281.
Walsh, S.R., Manuel, J.C., & Avis, N.E. (2005). The impact of breast cancer on younger women's relationships with their partner and children. Families, Systems, and Health, 23(1), 80-93.
