Itinerários terapêuticos de pacientes diagnosticados com câncer incurável : estudo qualitativo com usuários do serviço público de saúde da Baixada Santista

Abstract

The illness by cancer impacts the life of the person affected by the disease, their families and society in general. The longer the delay in making the diagnosis and initiating treatment, the lower the chances of cure. Thus, the present study aimed to analyze the therapeutic itineraries through the experience of users of the public health system in the region of Baixada Santista, diagnosed with incurable cancer. We chose to work with a qualitative methodological approach, using the life story technique. The interpretative analytical course was carried out through content analysis and guided by the theoretical framework of the logic of care, by AnneMarie Mol. Seven people participated in the study, six women and one man, aged between 24 and 64 years, of whom five were diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer; one with melanoma skin cancer; and one with prostate cancer, all users of the public health system. The analytical categories were: Torturous itinerary in search of a diagnosis; perceptions of the relationship with health professionals in the context of treatment; self-perception in care practices; and experiences of incurability. The therapeutic itinerary of the participants in this study was composed of the complex medical systems and the conventional biomedicine system. The study of IT from the perspective of the logic of care showed that the logics are interposed according to the context in which the health professional and patient relationship occurs and that the logic of care, to the detriment of the logic of choice, appears as a broad approach, covering the singularities of the patient with incurable cancer.