The interplay between ovarian cancer and social relationships: an analysis of patients' metaphors.

Objective: Research showed that ovarian cancer poses unique challenges to patients' care experiences and that patients' social networks could affect their care path significantly. The present study aimed to analyse the metaphors that patients used to signify the impact of the illness on their social relationships and the role of relationships in dealing with cancer.

Design: Following a qualitative description approach we conducted 38 semi-structured interviews with Australian (14) and Italian (24) women diagnosed at different stages of ovarian cancer.