Introduction

A cancer diagnosis may threaten a mother’s parental role, undermining her ability to care for her children and maintain family cohesion. The aim of this study was to explore the perceived threats to the parenting role and opportunities for growth among Iranian mothers with breast cancer.

Material and methods

This qualitative study involved single occasion, semi-structured interviews with mothers diagnosed with breast cancer (n = 20) who had a child younger than 16 years of age. The data was collected from May 2018 to January 2019 and analyzed using a conventional content analysis method described by Graneheim and Lundman. The MAXQDA version 10 software was used for data management.

Results

Themes from patient interviews were categorized within three domains: 1) Threats to parenting role, 2) Burden on children’s life, and 3) Turning threats into opportunity: moving towards reorganization. The first domain included the categories of “physical limitations due to illness”, and “psychological burden of the disease”. The second domain included the categories of “children’s unmet need”, “children’s fears and concerns”, “reduced social interactions” and “failure in education”. The third domain consisted of two categories, “seeking support from others” and “positive changes in family functioning”.

Conclusions

Healthcare professionals should develop and implement crucial educational and counseling programs to support mothers with breast cancer. Interventions should focus on helping mothers turn perceived threats into opportunities for improving quality of life and resiliency in their family.