What is it really like living with breast cancer?

PA 26/11 - How can we explain the different ways women react to having breast cancer and what effect does it really have on their lives? A new study is being carried out at The University of Nottingham which hopes to find the answers and find new ways of meeting the needs of patients once their treatment is over. Diane Trusson, a PhD student in the School of Sociology and Social Policy, wants to find women who are prepared to talk about their experience of being treated for early-stage breast cancer (ESBC) and what life has been like since their treatment finished. Diane said: "Although there is a growing amount of research into breast cancer, much of this work does not address the way that women feel, or their experiences following diagnosis. The main aim is to explore how women who have had breast cancer may have changed behaviourally, physically, mentally and in terms of self perception, as a result of having had a life-threatening disease which may or may not reoccur." Diane, who is from Beeston in Nottingham, wants to recruit volunteers who are prepared to talk about their experiences of living with breast cancer. Her research will explore how women come to terms with being diagnosed with breast cancer in view of the disruption that illness often causes to lives and identities. The aim of this research is to provide a deeper understanding of what it means to women in today's society to experience ESBC or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) — one of the most common types of non-invasive breast cancer.