Locating Relationship and Communication Issues Among Stressors Associated With Breast Cancer

Abstract

This article clarifies how the social contexts in which breast cancer survivors live can contribute to the stress they experience because of the disease. Guided by Solomon and Knobloch's (2004) relational turbulence model and Petronio's (2002) communication privacy management theory, this study explores personal relationship and communication boundary issues within stressors that are associated with the diagnosis, treatment, and early survivorship of breast cancer. A qualitative analysis of discourse posted on breast cancer discussion boards and weblogs using the constant comparative method and open-coding techniques revealed 12 sources of stress. Using axial coding methods and probing these topics for underlying relationship and communication issues yielded 5 themes. The discussion highlights the implications of the findings for the theories that guided this investigation and for breast cancer survivorship more generally.