Informed by a mothering-disruption framework, our study examines the illness narratives of women cancer survivors living in Southern Central Appalachia. We collected the stories of twenty-nine women cancer survivors from northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia using a multi-phasic qualitative design. Phase I consisted of women cancer survivors participating in a day-long story circle (n=26). Phase II consisted of women cancer survivors who were unable to attend the story circle ; this sample sub-set participated in in-depth interviews (n=3) designed to capture their illness narratives. Participants' illness narratives revealed the presence of: (1) mothering-disruption whereby cancer adversely impacted the mothering role ; and (2) mothering-connection , whereby the cancer experience motivatedmother-survivors. Participants' illness narratives reflected thatthe role of mother was the preeminent role for mother-survivor and whenever there was oppositional tension between the roles of mother and survivor , the women-survivors seemed to linguistically relocate away from the survivor role and toward the mothering role. As a result , women-survivors seemingly rejected medicalization of their identities by emphasizing their mothering responsibilities , something we term motherizing.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etsu-works-2246 |
| Date | 01 January 2013 |
| Creators | Dorgan, Kelly A., Duvall, Kathryn L., Hutson, Sadie P., Kinser, Amber E. |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | ETSU Faculty Works |
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