Women perceived breast cancer as a source of suffering and shame for themselves and their loved ones. Having this stigma led all the women in this study to live in silence. Justifications of living hidden were varied from woman to another but the majority decided to hide their disease to protect themselves from pity feelings and negative comments. By becoming less social and limiting their friendship cycle.
I didn’t want from my extend family to know, I didn’t want from anybody to feel sorry for me. Because, some people didn’t know how to comfort you; I protected myself from words could hurt me (Ohoud).
She added:
You know, sometimes I’m telling my story with breast cancer to others but without saying that it was my story and I was the patient; just …show more content…
There are several points of interest in Sahara’s extract use of the metaphor of ‘autumn’s leaf’ that looks pretty on the tree but easy to break once it falls. Here Sahrah described the conflict between the beautiful appearance that she wants people to see it and hide the inner self that shows her weakness. Opposite meanings were identified like strength and weakness; fake and realty; beauty and ugliness. All this explained that the way that people see breast cancer survivor as a beautiful and strong woman does not necessary match the picture that she see herself and vice versa. ‘Dying from the inside’ is another metaphor used by Shatha captured the experience of hidden to survive by pretending being strong in front of her children while the truth she was not:
You know what was harder than the chemotherapy was to pretend that you are strong in front of your children and husband while the truth that I was dying from the inside gradually…(cry) (Shatha).
Shatha was trying to keep on the positive roles of being a strong mother and a wife but in fact she was physically and emotionally impacted by the
I didn’t want from my extend family to know, I didn’t want from anybody to feel sorry for me. Because, some people didn’t know how to comfort you; I protected myself from words could hurt me (Ohoud).
She added:
You know, sometimes I’m telling my story with breast cancer to others but without saying that it was my story and I was the patient; just …show more content…
There are several points of interest in Sahara’s extract use of the metaphor of ‘autumn’s leaf’ that looks pretty on the tree but easy to break once it falls. Here Sahrah described the conflict between the beautiful appearance that she wants people to see it and hide the inner self that shows her weakness. Opposite meanings were identified like strength and weakness; fake and realty; beauty and ugliness. All this explained that the way that people see breast cancer survivor as a beautiful and strong woman does not necessary match the picture that she see herself and vice versa. ‘Dying from the inside’ is another metaphor used by Shatha captured the experience of hidden to survive by pretending being strong in front of her children while the truth she was not:
You know what was harder than the chemotherapy was to pretend that you are strong in front of your children and husband while the truth that I was dying from the inside gradually…(cry) (Shatha).
Shatha was trying to keep on the positive roles of being a strong mother and a wife but in fact she was physically and emotionally impacted by the