Representations Of Breast Cancer In The Diamaré: A Descriptive Analysis At The Maroua Regional Hospital In Cameroon.

This research aimed to analyze the representations of breast cancer by patients, and members of their entourage in the Diamaré. The field survey was mainly carried out at the Regional Hospital of Maroua with the target population. The work was based on a qualitative ethnographic methodology. The latter consisted of direct observation in hospital situations with in-depth interviews with informants. The study is part of the theory of social representations and reports several results. Thus, for the people met, breast cancer remains a disease associated with fear, fate, and death because of its incurable nature. It is difficult to apprehend the sick and their relatives. It is most often perceived as an incurable disease caused by modernity. For some, breast cancer results from a spell or an evil eye, making the pathology a spiritually provoked disease. It also very often takes the image of a disease of trial or punishment following a transgression.