{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T20:32:40Z","timestamp":1791837160408,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,22]],"date-time":"2021-09-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1632268800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Spanish Society of Medical Oncology","award":["2018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2018"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases in women. Prevention and treatments have lowered mortality; nevertheless, the impact of the diagnosis and treatment continue to impact all aspects of patients\u2019 lives (physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual).<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n This study seeks to explore the experiences of the different stages women with breast cancer go through by means of a patient journey.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n This is a qualitative study in which 21 women with breast cancer or survivors were interviewed. Participants were recruited at 9 large hospitals in Spain and intentional sampling methods were applied. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview that was elaborated with the help of medical oncologists, nurses, and psycho-oncologists. Data were processed by adopting a thematic analysis approach.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n The diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer entails a radical change in patients\u2019 day-to-day that linger in the mid-term. Seven stages have been defined that correspond to the different medical processes: diagnosis\/unmasking stage, surgery\/cleaning out, chemotherapy\/loss of identity, radiotherapy\/transition to normality, follow-up care\/the \u201cnew\u201d day-to-day, relapse\/starting over, and metastatic\/time-limited chronic breast cancer. The most relevant aspects of each are highlighted, as are the various cross-sectional aspects that manifest throughout the entire patient journey.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n Comprehending patients\u2019 experiences in depth facilitates the detection of situations of risk and helps to identify key moments when more precise information should be offered. Similarly, preparing the women for the process they must confront and for the sequelae of medical treatments would contribute to decreasing their uncertainty and concern, and to improving their quality-of-life.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0257680","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,22]],"date-time":"2021-09-22T13:48:24Z","timestamp":1632318504000},"page":"e0257680","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":92,"title":["Breast cancer patient experiences through a journey map: A qualitative study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1388-6686","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Laura","family":"Ciria-Suarez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paula","family":"Jim\u00e9nez-Fonseca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda","family":"Palac\u00edn-Lois","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M\u00f3nica","family":"Anto\u00f1anzas-Basa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Fern\u00e1ndez-Montes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aranzazu","family":"Manzano-Fern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5824-9808","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Beatriz","family":"Castelo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elena","family":"Asensio-Mart\u00ednez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susana","family":"Hernando-Polo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caterina","family":"Calderon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0257680.ref001","article-title":"Estimaciones de la incidencia del c\u00e1ncer en Espa\u00f1a, 2020","author":"SEOM","year":"2020","journal-title":"Red Espa\u00f1ola Regist C\u00e1ncer"},{"key":"pone.0257680.ref002","article-title":"Assessing predicted age-specific breast cancer mortality rates in 27 European countries by 2020","author":"R Cl\u00e8ries","year":"2018","journal-title":"Clin Transl Oncol"},{"key":"pone.0257680.ref003","article-title":"Tumour characteristics and survivorship in a cohort of breast cancer: the MCC-Spain study","author":"I G\u00f3mez-Acebo","year":"2020","journal-title":"Breast Cancer Res Treat"},{"key":"pone.0257680.ref004","article-title":"Trends in incidence, mortality and survival in women with breast cancer from 1985 to 2012 in Granada, Spain: A population-based study","author":"JA Baeyens-Fern\u00e1ndez","year":"2018","journal-title":"BMC Cancer"},{"key":"pone.0257680.ref005","article-title":"Is There a Relationship between Shared Decision Making and Breast Cancer Patients\u2019 Trust in Their Medical Oncologists?","author":"EG Engelhardt","year":"2020","journal-title":"Med Decis Mak"},{"key":"pone.0257680.ref006","article-title":"Annunziata MA. 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