Aim: Cancer of the head and neck is a confronting condition, as the disease and its treatments alter the appearance and function of body organs associated with physical appearance, social rituals, and identity. Many of the risk factors for head and neck cancers, also have significant negative social and moral permutations and assumptions. A person’s response to a diagnosis of cancer can be constructed by many discursive agendas that allow people to make meaning of and shape the illness journey. The aim of this research was to investigate how the social discourses surrounding head and neck cancer are constructed, and how this influences responses to the illness.
Methods: This study used a critical constructionist lens to investigate the common discourse surrounding head and neck cancer. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, observational field noting, journaling, and literature reviews. Data analysis was guided using a three-dimensional approach to critical discourse analysis which included analysis of text, discursive practices, and social context.
Results: Nine patients and ten healthcare professionals participated in this study. This paper presents one theme from a larger study. This overarching finding is that head and neck cancer is a biographical disruption to people’s lives that makes them deviate from perceived normality and causes a state of liminality for the rest of their lives. This results in them continuously recontextualising their diagnosis and re-socialising themselves through techniques such as disassociation and capitulation; re-evaluation in comparison to others; and by recalibrating a new normal.
Conclusion: People experience head and neck cancer survivorship by creating self-affirming places, with people who accept them or have had similar experiences to them. Healthcare professionals play an important role in supporting people to make sense of the fragmented world of cancer treatment and liminal state of survivorship.