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A new normal?: Women's experiences of biographical disruption and liminality following treatment for early stage breast cancer

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  • Trusson, Diane
  • Pilnick, Alison
  • Roy, Srila

Abstract

Increasing numbers of women are surviving breast cancer, but little is known about the long-term implications of having survived a life-threatening illness and living with embodied reminders of its potential to return. Twenty-four women aged between 42 and 80 (median = 51)who had been treated for early stage breast cancer in the UK between 6 months and 29 years previously, were recruited through local media and interviewed. Analysis of their narratives revealed challenges in the post-treatment period that were conceptualised as biographical disruption and liminality. Although no longer ill, an ongoing fear of recurrence combined with embodied changes prevented a return to ‘normal’ i.e. a pre-cancer state in terms of health status, identity and relationships. We argue that following the biographical disruption of breast cancer, a ‘new normal’ entails a continual renegotiation of identities, daily lives and futures as time passes and lives evolve.

Suggested Citation

  • Trusson, Diane & Pilnick, Alison & Roy, Srila, 2016. "A new normal?: Women's experiences of biographical disruption and liminality following treatment for early stage breast cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 121-129.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:151:y:2016:i:c:p:121-129
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.01.011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Conrad, Peter, 1990. "Qualitative research on chronic illness: A commentary on method and conceptual development," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 1257-1263, January.
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    2. Saunders, Benjamin & Bartlam, Bernadette & Artus, Majid & Konstantinou, Kika, 2018. "Biographical suspension and liminality of Self in accounts of severe sciatica," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 28-36.
    3. Weckesser, Annalise & Denny, Elaine, 2017. "Re-working biographies: Women's narratives of pregnancy whilst living with epilepsy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 110-117.
    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. Boardman, Felicity & Clark, Corinna, 2022. "‘We're kind of like genetic nomads': Parents' experiences of biographical disruption and uncertainty following in/conclusive results from newborn cystic fibrosis screening," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    6. Pamela Page & Alan Simpson & Lisa Reynolds, 2019. "Constructing a grounded theory of critical illness survivorship: The dualistic worlds of survivors and family members," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3-4), pages 603-614, February.
    7. Grant J McGeechan & Kerri E McPherson & Karen Roberts, 2018. "An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of living with colorectal cancer as a chronic illness," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(15-16), pages 3148-3156, August.
    8. Cluley, Victoria & Burton, James O & Quann, Niamh & Hull, Katherine L & Eborall, Helen, 2023. "Biographical dialectics: The ongoing and creative problem solving required to negotiate the biographical disruption of chronic illness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).
    9. Standing, Holly C. & Rapley, Tim & MacGowan, Guy A. & Exley, Catherine, 2017. "‘Being’ a ventricular assist device recipient: A liminal existence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 141-148.
    10. Tan, Catherine D., 2018. "“I'm a normal autistic person, not an abnormal neurotypical”: Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis as biographical illumination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 161-167.
    11. Engman, Athena, 2019. "Embodiment and the foundation of biographical disruption," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 120-127.
    12. 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.

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