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The meaning of the survivor identity for women with breast cancer

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  • Kaiser, Karen

Abstract

"Survivor" has become a ubiquitous and largely unquestioned term in culture and cancer discourse. While anecdotal evidence suggests women with breast cancer find fault with survivor images and discourse, the extent to which women identify with or reject the survivor identity has not been empirically studied. This paper examines whether women treated for breast cancer embrace survivorship. Data come from 39 in-depth interviews with women in the United States who completed treatment for breast cancer 3-18 months prior to the interview. Despite the positive meanings attached to survivorship, many women altered the meaning of survivorship or rejected survivorship. In particular, the survivor discourse alienated women who struggle with the threat of recurrence, who feel their cancer experience was not severe enough to merit this title, or who desire a private disease experience. These findings illustrate the failure of our cultural conceptions of cancer to adequately reflect lived experience and highlight how individuals actively "craft" illness meanings.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:67:y:2008:i:1:p:79-87
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pudrovska, Tetyana, 2010. "Cancer and mastery: Do age and cohort matter?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(7), pages 1285-1291, October.
    2. Jae-Mahn Shim, 2022. "Patient Agency: Manifestations of Individual Agency Among People With Health Problems," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    3. 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.
    4. Smit, Anri & Coetzee, Bronwynè Jo’sean & Roomaney, Rizwana & Bradshaw, Melissa & Swartz, Leslie, 2019. "Women's stories of living with breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 231-245.
    5. Granek, Leeat & Fergus, Karen, 2012. "Resistance, agency, and liminality in women's accounts of symptom appraisal and help-seeking upon discovery of a breast irregularity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(10), pages 1753-1761.
    6. 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.
    7. Lowton, Karen & Hiley, Chris & Higgs, Paul, 2017. "Constructing embodied identity in a ‘new’ ageing population: A qualitative study of the pioneer cohort of childhood liver transplant recipients in the UK," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1-9.
    8. Mrig, Emily Hammad & Spencer, Karen Lutfey, 2018. "Political economy of hope as a cultural facet of biomedicalization: A qualitative examination of constraints to hospice utilization among U.S. end-stage cancer patients," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 107-113.
    9. Lisa McCann & Nicola Illingworth & Yvonne Wengström & Gill Hubbard & Nora Kearney, 2010. "Transitional experiences of women with breast cancer within the first year following diagnosis," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(13‐14), pages 1969-1976, July.
    10. Quincey, Kerry & Williamson, Iain & Winstanley, Sue, 2016. "‘Marginalised malignancies’: A qualitative synthesis of men's accounts of living with breast cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 17-25.

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