Social Support of Male Breast Cancer Patients—a Mixed-Methods Analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the social support of male breast cancer patients (MBCP) in Germany. In particular, three aspects of social support focus on (a) the used resources within the social environment, (b) the received support, and (c) the differences of used social support between MBCP. A mixed-methods design is applied including data of qualitative interviews ( N = 27 MBCP) and a written questionnaire ( N = 100 MBCP). MBCP use different resources of support from their social environment like partners, family, friends, colleagues, other breast cancer patients, and medical experts. Mostly, MBCP receive emotional and informational support. They often receive emotional support from their partners and informational support from medical experts. Different types of social support usage can be identified dependent on age, occupation, and severity of disease. The older the patients and the less the disease severity, the less social support MBCP use. Within cancer care, partners and the closer social environment should be included more as they are a key resource for MBCP. As health-care professions might also be an important resource of support for MBCP, further research should examine this resource.