The diffusion of breast cancer in women in print media

This study aimed to identify the social representations of breast cancer in women broadcast by national print media (Folha de Sao Paulo) and local (Correio da Paraiba). We conducted a documental study based on 58 journalistic articles published in 2012 and 2013. Data was analysed with the software Alceste, using the default procedure, which allowed to identify a corpus organized in four thematic classes. The results showed the representation of the disease as preventable, while focused on the fatal nature of the disease. Although media communication is an important thread of information about breast cancer, the results indicate the need to question about the nature of the content that is emphatically conveyed by newspapers. For example, the media did not point the adoption of a healthy lifestyle as equally relevant preventive conduct, valuing hegemonically medical approach (periodic examinations). Moreover, contrary to what was expected, the emphasis on news to figures on mortality and other scientific considerations may have a repulsive effect on self-care practices and early detection of disease, since the disease is associated with death as close reality, contributing to crystallize the stigma associated with the representation of breast cancer. The findings served to explain the diffusion of the breast cancer by the print media, making evident the need for inclusion of positive communication guidelines on the issue and its possible implications for prevention and care practices in the oncological context.