From the phenomenological perspective, we sought to understand how patients experience the ostomates embodiment. We interviewed 10 patients who were undergoing treatment at the cancer hospital by the Unified Health System (SUS) in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. The narratives of the subjects pointed to the significance of cancer, the meaning attributed to the colostomy bag, to the limitations caused by the process of disease and the role of religion in this context. The experience of care was discussed from the perspective of Heidegger considering the concepts of embodiment, indigence and potency. The indigence, represented by the limitations and potency, represented by the care of oneself, others and the other pointing to the need for the promotion of independence and quality of life through re-signification of the health-illness condition.
Phenomenology; body; cancer