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Reneotiating identity: cancer narratives
Author(s) -
Mathieson Cynthia M.,
Stam Hendaikns J.
Publication year - 1995
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.ep10933316
Subject(s) - narrative , identity (music) , feeling , meaning (existential) , context (archaeology) , social identity approach , identity formation , social psychology , sociology , social identity theory , work (physics) , psychology , social group , psychotherapist , self concept , aesthetics , history , philosophy , linguistics , archaeology , mechanical engineering , engineering
We frame the work of living with cancer as one which is identity‐altering. Interviews with a heterogeneous group of cancer patients of varying sites and stages were used to conceptualise the identity work as involving disrupted feelings of fit, renegotiating identity, and biographical work. Patient narratives reflect these categories depending on their stage of illness and their experiences in medical institutions.‘Identity work’ is used to describe the process of patients' evaluations of the meaning of their illness within the actual context of ongoing, organised social relationships, including the medical system. We discuss the implications for narrative analyses in the social sciences.