Winning the lottery and fearing for the prize: experience of rural families surviving the mamarian neoplasm

Abstract

Objective: understanding the experience of rural families who have the surviving mother/wife of breast cancer. Method: a qualitative research based on the theoretical basis of Symbolic and methodological interactionism of grounded data theory. Forty-one members of six rural families participated. The data were produced through an open interview with circular questions and the construction of the family genogram, being analyzed by the Constant Comparative Method. Results: the Theoretical Model was defined by two central categories: recognizing itself as a victorious family and (not) believing in the cure of breast cancer, symbolizing the trajectory of the experience of rural families. Conclusion: the experience can be described as a constant, interactive and integrated movement in which the family recognizes itself as victorious, which “wins the lottery” when the mother/wife is considered cured, but “fears losing the prize” due to relapse.