A phenomenological study on the decision-making experience of breast reconstruction among breast cancer patients： from the perspective of ethics of care
10.12026/j.issn.1001-8565.2026.07.17
- VernacularTitle:乳腺癌患者乳房重建决策体验的现象学研究：关怀伦理学的视角
- Author:
Mengyu OU
1
;
Fengmin CHENG
1
;
Jiawenli LI
2
;
Huan ZHANG
3
;
Guofeng KUANG
4
Author Information
1. Department of Publicity and Education， Chongqing University Cancer Hospital， Chongqing 400000， China
2. School of Law and Sociology， Chongqing Technology and Business University， Chongqing 400604， China
3. Breast Tumor Center， Chongqing University Cancer Hospital， Chongqing 400000， China
4. Beijing Fenglin Social Work Development Center， Beijing 100102， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
breast cancer;
breast reconstruction;
ethics of care;
medical decision-making;
autonomy
- From:
Chinese Medical Ethics
2026;39(7):958-966
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Against the backdrop of a continuously rising incidence of breast cancer globally， breast reconstruction surgery represents one of the key measures to improve patients’ quality of life. Ethics of care emphasizes paying attention to patients’ actual needs in doctor-patient interactions and advocates creating a decision-making environment that facilitates the explicit expression of these needs. Focusing on the decision-making process of 16 breast cancer patients who underwent breast reconstruction surgery and stemming from the perspective of ethics of care， this paper explored the realization paths of autonomy for breast cancer patients when confronting medical decisions on breast reconstruction from three aspects， including the situatedness， relationality， and practicality of ethics of care. The study found that under the ethics of care， the organic interaction of contextualized practice， relational negotiation， and subjectivity cultivation jointly constructed a dynamically evolving medical decision-making ecosystem. This ecosystem， with situational response capabilities based on embodied cognition， relational adjustment mechanisms linked by ethical negotiation， and dual-track support networks aimed at subject empowerment， ultimately achieved the in-depth integration of technical practice and humanistic care.
