CÂNCER DE MAMA: REAÇÕES E ENFRENTAMENTO AO RECEBER

and descriptive study aiming at identifying (1) women's reactions upon delivery of the diagnosis of breast cancer, and (2) women's coping with the disease and treatment. Research was developed with 15 women who participate in the project women with breast cancer, in Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Data collection occurred from February to July, 2007 through recorded interview, following the Term of Free and Enlightened Consent. Content thematic analysis allowed for the emergence of the following categories: receiving the diagnosis of breast cancer; living with the breast cancer; family coping from the patient's point-of-view; and surviving the diagnosis of breast cancer. The diagnosis of breast cancer raised feelings of despair and distress among women, attenuated by faith in God and in medicine, which