Signifiants culturels, nouvelles technologies et reconstruction identitaire chez la femme ayant subi une mastectomie.

Abstract

According to the WHO (2020), breast cancer has the highest incidence rate worldwide. Between 2015 and 2020, it recorded 7,800,000 diagnosed cases, or 2.3 million cases in 2020; in sub-Saharan Africa, 129,000 cases were diagnosed in 2023; in Cameroon, there were 3,265 cases in 2020 and 4,170 cases diagnosed in 2021.The main factors contributing to its high mortality rate are cultural (neglect, ignorance, etc.) and difficulty in accessing care. From the diagnosis of cancer to mastectomy, affecting both the biological body and the subjective body, it has been observed that women who have undergone mastectomy form special bonds with new technologies through which they seem to come back to life. Hence this study on “cultural signifiers, new technologies and identity reconstruction in women who have undergone a mastectomy ", the aim of which is to “understand how the use of new technologies strengthens identity reconstruction in women who have undergone a mastectomy ".This qualitative study is based on a clinical approach and uses case studies. Data collected from three women aged between 45 and 55 who had undergone mastectomies, using semi-structured interviews, were analysed using a thematic approach. The results show that these women draw on several forms of support (emotional, social, symbolic and technological) to overcome the loss of the object; cultural signifiers can appear both as normative constraints and resources for transformation; and new technologies, whether in physical or digital form, are perceived as spaces for expression, but also as spaces for metabolisation. These results suggest that identity reconstruction involves a new narrative of the self, a subjective transformation, often driven by shared discourse, emotional support, technological support and cultural mediation. Identity, far from being fixed, is shown here to be an evolving process, linking trauma and the (re)creation of the self. This research therefore highlights the importance for clinicians to take into account the cultural, emotional, social and technological support mobilised by patients in order to better support the psychological work inherent in identity reconstruction.