Scripting and performing a drama about living with metastatic breast cancer provided insight into women’s experiences
QUESTION: What meanings were generated in women who scripted and performed a drama about living with metastatic breast cancer (Handle with care? Living with metastatic breast cancer)?
Design
Hermeneutic phenomenology.
Setting
A theatre school and drama centre for adults >50 years of age at a university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Participants
2 women who had metastatic disease and took part in creating Handle with care? Living with metastatic breast cancer and 2 actors who had experienced a breast cancer diagnosis.
Methods
The research team met with the theatre group and 2 women with metastatic breast cancer to create a drama based on a focus group study about living with metastatic breast cancer. People in the drama were interviewed at the beginning, midway through the creative process, and soon after the drama was taken on the road. A key question was: “What is it like for you to be involved in this process?” A phenomenological analysis focusing on the meanings of illness in the context of the drama was used. Drafts of the article were shared with the 4 women whose transcripts were analysed for this study.
Main findings
The 2 women with metastatic …
