This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Shapiro, S. Articles by Davis, C. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Shapiro, S. Articles by Davis, C. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Identity and Meaning in the Experience of Cancer

Three Narrative Themes

York University, Ontario, Canada, sshapiro{at}yorku.ca

Lynne Angus

York University, Ontario, Canada

Christine Davis

Patient and Family Cancer Counselling Centre, Toronto, Canada

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of three women breast-cancer survivors and the associated experiences of their partners. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted using a narrative approach, and the six accounts were analysed using the grounded theory method. The results describe the marked variation in the meaning of the experience among the participants, and the perceived change in each woman’s identity from prior to her cancer diagnosis to the time of the interview. The findings are presented in three sections: (1) Three Narrative Themes, the themes, Back to ‘Normal’, Rebirth and Turning Point, that represent the perceived change in each woman’s identity; (2) The Construction of Meaning, the shared characteristics that relate to meaning construction and identity; (3) Integration, the integration in each self-narrative of past and present self-understandings. The findings are compared with the existing literature, and the implications of different interpretations of self and change in the cancer experience are discussed. The limitations of the study are discussed with recommendations for future research.

Key Words: cancer • change • identity • narrative

Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 2, No. 4, 539-554 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/135910539700200410


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Cagnetta and E. Cicognani Surviving a Serious Traffic Accident: Adaptation Processes and Quality of Life J Health Psychol, July 1, 1999; 4(4): 551 - 564. [Abstract] [PDF]