The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of participation in a group dedicated to women with breast cancer, the group called "Arcobaleno". Research participants were twenty women followed by the Modena Cancer Centre who attended the group between 2001 and 2009. The research was conducted by the administration of semi-structured interviews then examined by using the content analysis. Results show the usefulness of participation to the group. All women, in fact, have shown satisfaction for the experience in the group and state its utility. The main benefits are, for example, to get out from isolation and loneliness, to have the opportunity to express emotions, thoughts and fears and to improve women’s ability to deal with therapies consequences so as to improve their ability to react to the disease by comparing with other participants, by getting increased information, by sharing problems and by promoting personal resources and personal awareness to contribute to their care process: at a glance to contribute to a significant improvement in their quality of life.
Keywords: Oncology, breast cancer patients, support groups, qualitative research