Background 

Women have difficulties in making decisions and experiences an unexpectedly long recovery period after immediate breast reconstruction. There are still many limitations in understanding the overall changes in life experienced by women with breast cancer before and after immediate breast reconstruction.

Objective 

This study aimed to explore the challenges experienced by women with breast cancer undergoing immediate breast reconstruction and how they coped with these problems.

Methods 

Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory design was used. In-depth face-to-face individual interviews were undertaken with 11 women with breast cancer from 4 hospitals in Korea. Data collection and analysis were conducted simultaneously, using the constant comparative method.

Results 

The core category was “struggling to accept the new breast as part of my body.” “Decision making regarding immediate breast reconstruction” was the initial step, followed by “facing the changed breasts after surgery.” The challenge of “living with the new breasts” slowly merged into “making up my mind to accept my breasts with gratitude.”

Conclusion 

Women with breast cancer undergoing immediate breast reconstruction struggled to accept the new breast as part of their body, and some reached a measure of closure and acceptance with gratitude.

Implication for Practice 

Nurses can apply findings by recognizing the experiences, perceptions, and needs of women; providing patients with sufficient information on the whole process; and offering continuous supportive care to facilitate the coping process. In addition, nurses should consider a variety of approaches that help women to integrate their changed bodies into their self-concept and self-image and restore a sense of normality.

中文翻译：

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“努力接受新的乳房作为我身体的一部分”——乳腺癌女性立即乳房重建的挑战

背景 

女性在立即乳房重建后难以做出决定并经历出乎意料的长恢复期。在了解乳腺癌女性在立即乳房重建之前和之后所经历的整体生活变化方面仍然存在许多局限性。

客观的 

本研究旨在探讨接受立即乳房重建的乳腺癌女性所面临的挑战以及她们如何应对这些问题。

方法 

使用了施特劳斯和科尔宾的扎根理论设计。对来自韩国 4 家医院的 11 名乳腺癌女性进行了深入的面对面个人访谈。数据收集和分析同时进行，采用常数比较法。

结果 

核心类别是“努力接受新的乳房作为我身体的一部分”。“立即乳房再造的决定”是第一步，其次是“面对手术后改变的乳房”。“与新乳房一起生活”的挑战慢慢融入“下定决心以感恩的心接受我的乳房”。

结论 

接受立即乳房重建的乳腺癌女性难以接受新的乳房作为身体的一部分，有些人达到了一定程度的闭合和感激之情。

对实践的启示 

护士可以通过认识女性的经历、看法和需求来应用研究结果；为患者提供有关整个过程的充分信息；并提供持续的支持性护理以促进应对过程。此外，护士应考虑多种方法，帮助女性将改变的身体融入自我概念和自我形象，恢复正常感。