TABLE 1.
Themes, subthemes, and exemplificative quotations.
| Theme | Subtheme | Exemplificative quotations |
| 1. Overwhelming emotions | Feeling scared and vulnerable | “I am worried about the consequences of chemotherapy on the baby, but I have been reassured by doctors” (Joey) |
| “I am worried I might lose my baby, […] this is a high-risk pregnancy. […] I have to get treatment and I am worried that something bad might happen to her” (Grace) | ||
| “At first I was scared because I heard that children whose mothers were treated with chemotherapy may have problems up to the age of 10, so I thought… what is it going to happen to her?” (Lucy) | ||
| “I am worried I might not make it. I don’t want to leave my baby” (Joey) | ||
| “My concern is how to explain to him [the other son] why I am going to lose my hair, which I have already cut… We tried to take it as a game… we did this together as a family, to avoid traumatizing him, and now we have started to buy nice hats, such that he can get used to this” (Grace) | ||
| Feeling shocked and confused | “I noticed a lump in my breast while I was breastfeeding my baby. I didn’t give much importance to it, I thought it was related to breastfeeding, but then I noticed enlarged lymph nodes in my armpit. I got checked and in a few days I found out it was cancer” (Joey) | |
| “I felt terrible, I didn’t understand anything” (Faith) | ||
| “Why me? Why now? Such a misfortune!” (Lucy) | ||
| Thinking straight and taking action | “It is tough to carry on a pregnancy under therapy, thinking straight is essential” (Lucy) | |
| “Things have to be done, you can’t just stay in bed, you have to move on” (Grace) | ||
| “The sooner I start treatment, the sooner I heal” (Donna) | ||
| “There is no need to mince words, you just have to undergo therapy, without too much theory” (Joey) | ||
| 2. Sense of difference | Experiencing remarkable physical changes | “I used to be pretty, but now I have been packing 40 extra pounds and my hair is going to fall out in chunks. He [husband] says: Shave it! I try to hold on, but as I touch my head, a tuft of hair falls out” (Lucy) |
| Comparisons with healthy women | “This was supposed to be a serene time for me as for the other women” (Faith) | |
| 3. Sources of strength | Being positive | “I just found out that I can be strong… I thought I was weaker. So, I want to be positive, because I noticed that after a few tragic days, I was able to react to the situation” (Donna) |
| Feeling supported and listened to | “My mom is very positive, too. She tells me to stay calm because I will be fine” (Faith) | |
| “They [girlfriends] call me every day to know how I feel, to reassure me” (Faith) | ||
| “He [husband] is always very positive, he cheers me up. He keeps telling me to think positive because things will be alright” (Grace) | ||
| “My son gives me strength” (Grace) | ||
| “She [daughter] is everything to me” (Lucy) | ||
| “My doctor called me and said: «It’s been a bombshell, but don’t worry. We have to take care of you and the baby, now. Everything will be fine, you are a lioness»” (Faith) | ||
| “If I cry, he [husband] cries, and this pushes me down. […] I kept hanging out with friends, going to the gym. I didn’t retreat into myself. I am worried, but I also need distractions” (Donna) | ||
| Religion and spirituality | “They are all praying for me and sending me positive messages” (Faith) | |
| “I have always been scared by this disease, in the place where I live cases of cancer occur in almost all families, and I have always thought that maybe, one day, that could be me” (Faith) | ||
| “I heard that breast cancer, from a spiritual perspective, may be related to something unresolved in one’s history” (Lucy) |