Geeta Patel-Kerai,Diana Harcourt, Nichola Rumsey, Habib Naqvi
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer
in females, affecting women of all ethnic groups. Until now,
very little research has captured the psychosocial impact of the
disease amongst Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) women,
and that which has been conducted has been restricted to
English-speaking participants. The aim of this qualitative
study was to explore the experiences of five Gujarati-speaking
Indian women with regard to their breast cancer diagnosis and
treatment; all five had Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and
lived in the UK. Individual semi-structured interviews were
conducted in Gujarati, with the assistance of an interpreter.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of the data
revealed 3 key themes: making sense of the cancer, importance
of support and body image concerns. The findings show that
these women’s experiences were influenced by culturally
specific concerns, especially in relation to knowledge of breast
cancer and language barriers. This study has implications
for healthcare professionals in terms of providing culturally
competent care and support to BME women with LEP.
