Exploring Women's Experiences of Work Participation During Breast Cancer Treatment: A Qualitative Study

Breast cancer and its treatments significantly affect women's daily functioning, including their ability to engage in work. While return to work has been widely studied as an outcome, less is known about how work participation is experienced and negotiated during active treatment, particularly in relation to patients' functioning and support needs.

The aim of this study was to explore how women with breast cancer experience and make sense of work participation while undergoing treatment.

A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted with 19 women receiving treatment for breast cancer at three hospitals in northeastern Italy. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using Colaizzi's seven-step method.

Two main themes emerged: (1) 'The individual-focused nature of work experience,' comprising three subthemes: personality traits shaping work perspectives, personal adaptation processes, and work as a source of emotional normality and identity continuity. (2) 'Receiving support from the external context,' including compassionate support acknowledging vulnerability and organisational adjustments facilitating work participation.

Work participation represents a clinically relevant dimension of breast cancer care, reflecting the interplay between symptom burden, functional capacity, and psychosocial well-being. Integrating work-related considerations into routine clinical practice may support more comprehensive and responsive care during active treatment.

No patients or members of the public were involved in the design or conduct of the study. Participants contributed through individual interviews, and three subsequently took part in member checking of the preliminary thematic structure to enhance the credibility of the findings.