Breast cancer support businesses, retail stores selling mastectomy-related products, are playing an expanding role within healthcare in the USA. As commercial spaces separate from the medical settings where most cancer treatment occurs, these businesses have been largely overlooked in studies of medical care providers and their experiences. The purpose of this paper is to seek to bring to light the meanings and dimensions of the care work provided by breast cancer support staff to newly diagnosed patients.,This project employed an ethnographic approach centered on the workers at one breast cancer support business. The first author carried out participant observation over a 20-month period and supplemented the observations with staff member interviews.,The analysis of field notes and interviews revealed two themes or purposes as central to the employees’ understanding of their work: defining the organizational setting as a nonmedical space and balancing image enhancement with comforting care. The findings show how values of client-centered care can be enacted in a for-profit healthcare setting.,This study is limited to one for-profit support business in the southeastern USA.,Mastectomy supply businesses appear to offer a kind of support that patients may not be finding elsewhere or at the particular time they need it. Thus the study holds relevance for practitioners and health policy makers who are seeking to develop more comprehensive care for surgical patients within the established healthcare system.,This study gives a detailed picture of breast cancer support work, including the value premises and meanings it holds for support workers.

中文翻译：

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使工作在乳腺癌支持业务中可见

乳腺癌支持业务，即销售与乳房切除术相关产品的零售商店，在美国的医疗保健领域正在发挥越来越大的作用。由于商业空间与发生大多数癌症治疗的医疗环境分开，因此在对医疗服务提供者及其经验的研究中，这些商业已被大大忽略。本文旨在揭示乳腺癌支持人员为新诊断的患者提供的护理工作的意义和规模。该项目采用了以人种学方法为中心的方法，该方法以一家乳腺癌支持业务的工作人员为中心。第一作者进行了为期20个月的参与者观察，并通过工作人员访谈补充了观察结果。对现场笔记和访谈的分析揭示了两个主题或目的是员工理解其工作的核心：将组织设置定义为非医疗空间，并在图像增强与舒适护理之间取得平衡。研究结果表明，如何在以营利为目的的医疗保健环境中实现以客户为中心的价值。这项研究仅限于美国东南部的一家以营利为目的的支持业务。乳房切除术供应业务似乎提供了一种支持患者可能找不到其他地方或在他们需要的特定时间。因此，该研究与寻求在既定医疗体系内为手术患者提供更全面护理的从业者和健康政策制定者具有相关性。该研究详细介绍了乳腺癌支持工作，