Relating information-needs to the cancer experience. 1. Jenny’s story: a cancer narrative

This paper is based on a phenomenological study that used narratives to explore lived cancer experiences. The aim of the study was to determine the important issues for people with cancer that arose out of their cancer experience, and to place their information-needs within the stages of the cancer trajectory. The literature highlights the importance of information-giving; however, many problems are encountered with its provision. People with cancer frequently express dissatisfaction with the information given to them and experience difficulty in retaining and processing information.

Six individuals were invited to tell the story of their cancer experience through in-depth interviews and narrative analysis uncovered thematic aspects of the lived experience. One interview in particular stood out as capturing the essence of a lived experience. Jenny’s narrative had a beginning, a middle and an end, features that are traditionally associated with stories. This paper focuses on her story in depth, and illustrates the extent to which cancer can impinge on normal coping mechanisms. A diagnosis of cancer cannot be isolated from the other events in an individual’s life, and themes emerged which showed that cancer impacts on different aspects of an individual’s self-identity, including body image, family, social and work relationships. The cancer experience invariably begins before the point of diagnosis and information-needs clearly change over time.