LIVING WITH BREAST CANCER: THE INFLUENCE OF RURALITY ON WOMEN’S SUFFERING AND RESILIENCE. A POSTMODERN FEMINIST INQUIRY | Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing Home Archives Vol. 20 No. 2 (2003): December 2002 - February 2003 Scholarly Papers Main Article Content

Cath Rogers-Clark, RN, BA (BehavSci), MN, PhD

Keywords

breast cancer, survivorship, resilience, rural women, postmodern feminist methodology, narratives

Abstract

This paper focuses on rural living as a dimension of women’s experiences of living through breast cancer. The findings presented emanate from a feminist narrative research project that examined the experiences of rural women from south-west Queensland who were long-term survivors of breast cancer. This project aimed to listen, report and interpret rural women’s stories of resilience in surviving breast cancer and moving on with their lives. The participants reported that there were both positive and negative aspects of living in a rural setting, especially when ill. Eight of the nine participants, however, felt strongly that the positive aspects of rural living outweighed the difficulties. This suggests that rurality in the context of health and illness must be considered as a multifaceted dimension, with resources to support cancer survivors building on the existing strengths in rural communities.

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