‘I can’t see what that path looks like’: making sense of help-seeking among women with breast cancer in rural and urban Scotland – an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Scottish women living with breast cancer may face geographical and structural inequalities in accessing care and support, yet little is known about how differences in geography shape help-seeking. The aim of the present study was to explore these experiences among women living with breast cancer in rural and urban Scotland. A qualitative design was employed and analysed via Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Seven women diagnosed with breast cancer were recruited via Breast Cancer Now and participated in semi-structured online interviews exploring symptom recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and support. Three interconnected themes were identified: (i) experiencing care as shaped by uneven geography and its consequences, (ii) assembling support beyond primary care, and (iii) navigating an opaque healthcare system. Geographical variation in service accessibility, hidden financial/emotional costs of accessing care, and reliance on informal and external support networks influenced help-seeking. Participants described the burden of navigating fragmented systems, where support was contingent on knowing what to ask. Help-seeking was not experienced as a discrete behaviour, but as an ongoing, effortful process shaped by regional structural, relational, and emotional factors. These findings highlight the need for more accessible, coordinated, person-centred approaches to breast cancer care that reduce the burden on individuals navigating support systems.