Perilous equations? Empowerment and the pedagogy of fear in breast cancer awareness campaigns

Recommendations for breast cancer education for African American women below screening age

Although statistically unlikely, early-onset breast cancer tends to be more aggressive and leads to greater mortality than breast cancer among women of screening age. Young African American women are disproportionately impacted by early-onset breast cancer compared to women of other races. Given the racial disparities and because young women are typically not the primary audience for breast cancer educational messaging, there is a need to identify recommendations for age-appropriate breast cancer education for African American women below mammogram eligibility. Through N = 30 key informant interviews with young African American breast cancer survivors, family members of young survivors, community organization leaders and healthcare providers, we identified breast cancer educational message content and communication channels relevant for these women. Participants recommended that message content should emphasize the need to address family cancer history and self-advocacy in healthcare encounters in addition to concerns about loss of womanhood, financial costs and opportunity costs associated with preventive healthcare visits. Breast cancer messages for this audience should consider the influences of earlier life stage, culture and race. Recommended communication channels highlighted use of social media and videos. Findings will inform future age-appropriate educational messaging aimed at eliminating early-onset breast cancer disparities disproportionately impacting young African American women.

The wounded blogger: analysis of narratives by women with breast cancer

The purpose of this article is to analyse the representation of the body in seven blogs by Spanish women with breast cancer. Using both texts and images, we analyse how they reproduce modern and postmodern logic to represent the wounded body. Based on Frank's proposals, this article draws the conclusion that the women bloggers mainly reproduce the modern logic (characterised by the restitution narrative and a predictable, disassociated and monadic body), but there are elements which break with this logic (the quest narrative, the body presented as associated, dyadic and full of desire, and the acceptance of contingency). After applying Frank's categories, we suggest that the contemporary way of experiencing illness may question the clarity of the modern/postmodern divide.