| This study sought to understand the stories of women who believe their breast cancer was caused by stress. Current research shows that although medical research generally points away from an association between stress and breast cancer, this attribution is very common among women with the disease. I explored the structure of these stress-illness narratives, how women came to this attribution, how it affects their constructions of responsibility for and control over the cancer, and how it influences their medical and emotional responses to the cancer.; The participants were nine women who had been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer within the past two years, and who indicated that they believed stress had contributed to their cancer. Average age for participants was 53. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, with questions focusing on the perceived relationship between stress and breast cancer. The interview transcripts were studied using two qualitative data analysis techniques: phenomenological and narrative.; Findings of this study suggest that stress as an attribution for breast cancer carries many levels of meaning, and makes sense of the cancer experience in a particular way. Attributing breast cancer to stress implies that the woman has some control over the possibility of recurrence by managing her stress, but also that she was in some way to blame for the cancer for allowing stress to take over her life and her body. This attribution serves the function of a meaning-making device, allowing women to make theories about why they developed cancer, and so to place their cancer diagnosis in the context of their lives in a way that makes sense to them.; Closely related to the stress attribution is the healing narrative, the idea that a woman may be able to heal her cancer and transform her life by managing her stress. The healing narrative is a powerful one in our society, and offers a sense of hope.; The narrative meaning of stress and its implication for breast cancer, other illnesses, and even in contemporary life in general has gone largely unexamined. Our society often tends to story suffering in terms of “stress,” an ambiguous and ill-defined concept. The current study is one starting point for a more critical examination of the concept of stress and the role it plays in narratives of contemporary life. |
