Discourses of a cancer diagnosis: Narratives of women in academia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of female faculty members diagnosed with breast cancer and how they navigated their roles in the gendered institutional structure of higher education to provide both voice and visibility for women in these circumstances, contributing to the broader understanding for others. This qualitative study used online journaling and photovoice to narrate five women's experiences with a life-threatening diagnosis in a challenging professional role. Feminist theory was used to guide the study, and thematic narrative analysis (Reissman, 2008) was used to analyze the data. Although literature explores the experiences of female faculty members in academia as well as women's experiences dealing with breast cancer in other contexts, there is a gap in research investigating women's experiences with cancer while in a tenure track position. This study contributes to broader understanding of the ways women in these circumstances navigated the responsibilities and requirements associated with a tenure-track role and the ways gender shapes both their experiences and the institution of higher education. The four themes that emerged from this study were: (a) finding agency and supportive spaces: managing, adjusting, and responding; (b) connections for preservation: negotiation, comfort, and reassessing; (c) expressing cancer: laughter, fears, and sharing; and (d) embodying changes: impact, expectations and consequences. This study concludes with recommendations for institutions of higher education to promote in both small and more substantial ways a more positive environment for those having to deal with illness while working in institutions of higher education.