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Seeking certainty through narrative closure: men's stories of prostate cancer treatments in a state of liminality
Author(s) -
Pietilä Ilkka,
Jurva Raisa,
Ojala Hanna,
Tammela Teuvo
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
sociology of health and illness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1467-9566
pISSN - 0141-9889
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9566.12671
Subject(s) - liminality , certainty , narrative , context (archaeology) , prostatectomy , human sexuality , closure (psychology) , prostate cancer , psychology , medicine , gender studies , cancer , social psychology , sociology , history , political science , epistemology , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , anthropology , law
Radical treatments of prostate cancer often lead to a pervasive liminal state that is characterised by multiple uncertainties that relate both to a possible recurrence of cancer and recovery from side effects, such as erectile and urinary dysfunctions. Liminality can make it difficult for cancer patients to narrate their experiences, as their stories lack a definite ending. After interviews with 22 Finnish men who had undergone radical prostatectomy, we analysed how men produce closure in their illness narratives. Focusing on the timelines of control visits or their anticipated recovery from side effects, these interviewees sought provisional certainty within a seemingly chaotic future. By locating erectile dysfunction in the wider context of a life‐course and interpreting their fading sexuality as a ‘natural’ consequence of ageing, these men were adjusting to their post‐operative lives. Our study further shows that the inability to adjust personal experiences to positive culturally available storylines that provide a chance for the narrative reconstruction of life, can cause materialised negative consequences, such as relationship breakdowns.