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The breast-cancer-ization of cancer survivorship: Implications for experiences of the disease

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  • Bell, Kirsten

Abstract

Numerous observers have commented on the cultural prominence of breast cancer in North America. However, although popular and biomedical conceptions of cancer survivorship have been influenced to an inordinate degree by breast cancer, few researchers have examined the impact of dominant discourses on people diagnosed with other forms of cancer. Drawing on interviews with 32 Canadian men and women with a history of cancer conducted between 2010 and 2013, I demonstrate that breast cancer became central to their own experiences of cancer, providing an important lens through which to understand the effects of the disease. The effects of these comparisons were diverse, leading some participants to want to differentiate themselves from this implicit norm, leading others to downplay the seriousness of their own forms of suffering, and amplifying a sense of shame and stigma in yet others.

Suggested Citation

  • Bell, Kirsten, 2014. "The breast-cancer-ization of cancer survivorship: Implications for experiences of the disease," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 56-63.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:110:y:2014:i:c:p:56-63
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.03.031
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kaiser, Karen, 2008. "The meaning of the survivor identity for women with breast cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 79-87, July.
    2. Clarke, Juanne N. & Everest, Michelle M., 2006. "Cancer in the mass print media: Fear, uncertainty and the medical model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(10), pages 2591-2600, May.
    3. Bell, Kirsten, 2009. "'If it almost kills you that means it's working!' Cultural models of chemotherapy expressed in a cancer support group," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 169-176, January.
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    1. Lewis, Sophie & Kenny, Katherine & Broom, Alex & Kirby, Emma & Boyle, Frances, 2021. "The social meanings of choice in living-with advanced breast cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    2. Dyer, Karen E., 2015. "“Surviving is not the same as living”: Cancer and Sobrevivencia in Puerto Rico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 20-29.
    3. Anne Sidenius & Lenore Manderson & Ole Mogensen & Martin Rudnicki & Lars Mikael Alling Møller & Helle Ploug Hansen, 2019. "“But this is a good cancer:” Patient perceptions of endometrial cancer in Denmark," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1-2), pages 245-256, January.

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