The Sociology of Cancer: A decade of research

Anne Kerr, Emily Ross, Gwen Jacques, Sarah Cunningham-Burley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Biomedicine is often presented as the driving force behind improvements in cancer care, with genomics the latest innovation poised to change the meaning, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and lived experience of cancer. Reviewing sociological analyses of a diversity of patient and practitioner experiences and accounts of cancer the last decade (2007-2017), we explore the experiences of, approaches to and understandings of cancer in this period. We identify three key areas of focus: (i) cancer patient experiences and identities; (ii) cancer risk and responsibilities and (iii) bioclinical collectives. We explore these sociological studies of societal and biomedical developments and how sociologists have sought to influence developments in cancer identities, care and research. We end by suggesting that we extend our understaning of innovations in the fields of cancer research to take better account of these wider social and cultural innovations, together with patients’, activists’ and sociologists’ contributions therein
Original languageEnglish
JournalSociology of Health & Illness
Early online date15 Feb 2018
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 15 Feb 2018

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