ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the case of a postgraduate student, Mary Hanson, who is about to begin her research on women living with breast cancer, focusing on the impact the disease has had on their relationship with their partners. The principles of ethics in research are explained and applied to the case of researching breast cancer in order to highlight that ethics in research are important and necessary for the protection of both the researcher and the research participants. The chapter focuses on the sensitive areas of human rights and dignity and emphasises that research is possible only if it respects and benefits research participants and humanity. There is evidence to suggest that breast cancer is a complicated experience because patients may go through different emotional and social stages. More specifically, patients go through physiological changes and demanding treatment and may experience life restrictions.
