Learning Objective #1: Describe what strategies were employed by the spouses of women with terminal breast cancer

Learning Objective #2: Understand what struggles were encountered by the spouses of women with terminal breast cancer

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Background: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer in Taiwanese woman and the leading cause of death for 35- to 59-year-old Taiwanese women. The effect of this illness extends far beyond the women with breast cancer and into the lives of their spouses. Little is known about what are the strategies of Taiwanese spouses employed to manage their day-to-day life while living with a wife's terminal breast cancer. Objective: The purpose of this study was to document the managing strategies employed by Taiwanese spouses living with their wives' terminal breast cancer. Methods: Descriptive Phenomenology provided the methodological basis for data generation and analysis. Extensive face-to-face interviews and observations were conducted with 4 spouses who were taking care of a wife with a terminal breast cancer at home. A total of 37 interviews was yield during the multiple occasions of data collection. Thematic analysis guided by Giorgi (1985) and van Manen (1990) was used to analyze the text generated from the interviews and field notes. Results: Releasing Strains was the main theme that depicted the spouses' managing strategies in their daily life. The day-to-day of the Releasing Strains were best understood in the context of the seven sub-themes: Seeking Support, Rely on Religion, Viewing Things in Different Light, Avoiding Talking about Dying, Not Wanting to Know, Drinking, and Reproaching Others. The meaning units of each sub-theme offered details of spouses' feelings, thoughts, concerns, and action-oriented responses to manage their struggles. Conclusions: This study alerts health professionals that the spouses of the diagnosed woman employed multiple strategies to deal with their everyday difficulties and problems. It is ethically imperative to develop programs to facilitate spouses of the diagnosed women to get through this difficult journey in future clinical practices.