"Surviving is not the same as living": cancer and Sobrevivencia in Puerto Rico

Social Science & Medicine
Karen E Dyer

Abstract

"Cancer survivorship" is an evolving concept that has been elaborated to a large extent in the mainland U.S. through the work of national advocacy organizations, and it has served as a source of cohesion for many people who have experienced cancer. However, anthropologists and other social scientists have argued that dominant meanings of survivorship-such as the idea of "cancer as a gift" or the role of positive thinking in influencing the disease course-reflect distinctively American cultural values, and survivorship outside the U.S. has remained largely unexplored even while the concept has gained some traction globally. This paper explores how the concepts of "survivorship" and "survivor" are engaged in the setting of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the U.S., and how well they are seen to explain the nature of post-treatment life. Ethnographic fieldwork for this study was conducted over 12 months split between two field visits (2 months and 10 months) between June 2010 and March 2012 in San Juan, the capital city, and Ponce, a smaller city on the southern coast. This paper is based on interviews with 23 participants treated for cancer as young adults. Participants drew from many of the prevailing discourses of su...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 13, 2016·Journal of Cancer Survivorship : Research and Practice·Sze Yan Cheung, Paul Delfabbro
Dec 19, 2016·International Journal of Nursing Practice·Velda J Gonzalez-MercadoGloria Colon
Jan 8, 2019·Journal of Psychosocial Oncology·Leonard L BerryKatie A Deming
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Mar 28, 2019·Revista brasileira de enfermagem·Julia WakiuchiCatarina Aparecida Sales
May 21, 2020·Quality of Life Research : an International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation·Cleo A SamuelGiselle Corbie-Smith
Mar 9, 2021·Medical Anthropology·Naomi C Schoenfeld

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