EXPERIENCE OF MOTHERS OF PEDIATRIC PATIENTS UNDERGOING CANCER TREATMENT

Abstract

Introduction: Children diagnosed with neoplasms face drastic changes in their life routine. Continuous care for cancer patients requires years of assistance, and a family member is often assigned the responsibility of caring during treatment, dispensing his or her life for the benefit of the patient, resulting in depersonalization. Studies indicate that the female sex plays this crucial role, in most cases, which results in greater wear and overload. Objective: To understand the experience of mothers of children during cancer treatment. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study with a qualitative design, carried out in the Pediatric Oncology Units of a maternal and child teaching hospital in a city in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. 10 mothers of patients who had been undergoing cancer treatment for at least six months and who represented the main care throughout the treatment were invited to participate in the study. Two instruments were used, a sociodemographic questionnaire and a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: A total of 10 mothers were eligible for the study, with a mean age of 35.2 years, with a standard deviation of approximately 4.64, and most of them reported being married (60%). Regarding education, half of the sample (50%) had completed high school and the other half (50%) had completed higher education. With regard to religion, Catholic (40%) and Evangelical (40%) stood out and (90%) reported receiving more than one minimum wage. There was a predominance of mothers who reported working (80%) and the average number of children was two. Regarding the characterization of the patients, the mean age was 5.1 years, with a standard deviation of 3.47, being the same amount of sample for females and males (50%), with 100% diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and mean treatment time of thirteen months. The units of meaning identified and discriminated were "the emotional impact of the illness", "the structural changes in the face of cancer treatment", "the main challenges perceived during the treatment" and "being a mother in a scenario of illness". Conclusion: The results point to the description of the maternal experience throughout the oncological treatment of a child, contemplating the emotional and structural aspects, main challenges and analysis of the maternal role. The importance of adequate emotional support and social support for coping with the experience is understood