Lumps in the breast: Negotiating risks after a cancer diagnosis

Abstract

The breast has become a spatial and temporal location for risk. Yet finding a lump in the breast, whether through touch or technology, is a complex process, which involves a variable combination of physical, emotional and cognitive tasks for the woman involved. The lump is both 'self’ and ‘other', in that it is physically positioned within the boundaries of the woman's body, but may be conceptualised as ‘alien'. In addition it is defined as a life-threatening lump through the intervention of expert others, and by the use of technology. Women diagnosed with breast cancer are thus not only faced with a frightening illness, and an entrance into the medical world and all it entails, but also with questions of the sell and its boundaries. In this risky arena, where selfhood and life itself are threatened, women seek ways of managing the experience which will restore them. One way they may do this is through creating a dialogue with the ambiguous entity that is a breast lump. ‘Getting on with it’ becomes an aim which helps the women address issues of selfhood, risk, uncertainty and guilt, and to continue with their lives.

Key Words:

• breast cancer
• risk
• women
• screening