Thesis
Experiences of biographical disruption among young adult cancer survivors: a phenomenological study
Master of Arts (M.A.), Drexel University
May 2017
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-7724
Abstract
Young adulthood is a time of transition in which individuals gain independence from caregivers, form intimate relationships, strengthen bonds with peers, and seek to further educational and career goals. Individuals who receive a cancer diagnosis in young adulthood face unique challenges related to attaining these goals. Recent research suggests that young adult cancer survivors perceive their lives as being biographically disrupted by cancer. The objective of the present study was to describe the subjective, embodied experiences of biographical disruption, including diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, of cancer in young adults. Three participants who identified as survivors of cancer in young adulthood engaged in a movement elicitation process followed by verbal interviews. Phenomenological research methods were used to discover themes related to their embodied experiences of biographical disruption. Nine themes were identified through data analysis. The first seven themes are organized around participants' sense of dynamic embodiment throughout specific phases of the cancer experience: Embodying the Routine Path before Cancer, Unpredictability and Disbelief in the Body in Diagnosis, Dynamic Shifts in Embodied Coping and Perceptions of the Body during Treatment, Processing the Cancer Experience after Treatment Delays Forward Movement, Re-Embodiment Leads to Negotiating Pre- and Post-Cancer Identity in Early Survivorship, Understanding and Adapting to the New Normal Body in the Present, and Embodied Self- Care in Survivorship. The final two themes were identified as being central to the global experience of cancer in young adulthood: Biographical Disruption in Young Adulthood Represents Lost or Distorted Time and Embodied Biographical Disruption Manifests as Social Disruption. Results from this study are discussed in relation to their implications for future research and dance/movement therapy practice.
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Details
- Title
- Experiences of biographical disruption among young adult cancer survivors
- Creators
- Erin A. Gallagher - DU
- Contributors
- Sherry W. Goodill (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vii, 141 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Creative Arts Therapies; College of Nursing and Health Professions; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 7724; 991014632721604721