The nurse in the early detection of breast cancer in primary health care/ O enfermeiro na deteccao precoce do cancer de mama no ambito da atencao primaria/ El enfermero en la deteccion precoz del cancer de mama en la atencion primaria

The objectives were to identify the actions performed by nurses in caring for women and to discuss the nurses' professional action regarding the early detection of breast cancer in primary health care. This is an descriptive study with a phenomenological qualitative approach, carried out from December/2011 to November/2012. The participants were 12 nurses working with women's health in primary care. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, which were recorded and transcribed for later analysis. The actions identified were categorized based on the common sense of nurses' actions. It was identified that nurses in primary health care, do not have the purpose in their professional action the early detection of abnormalities in the breast, but the implementation of preventive actions aimed mainly to the pregnancy period. It is concluded that is urgent to redirect of nurses' actions in order to prioritize the early detection of abnormalities in the breast.