Discordant Feelings in the Lifeworld of Cancer Survivors

Abstract

This article concerns persons who live in uncertainty following an earlier diagnosis of (and completed treatment for) cancer. Fear of recurrence of the disease underlies the uncertainty and the attendant perception of being profoundly endangered, more ‘at risk’ than anyone else. Such a reflective assessment engenders a sense of separation from the everyday ‘practical consciousness’ that seems effortlessly to be shared by ‘ordinary’ others. The mismatch between the interaction order and individual psychology gives rise to interpersonal emotional dissonance, which forms a significant aspect of the chronic suffering contained in the ‘at-risk illness’ experience of cancer survivors. The article examines the emotional patterns involved in their situation and seeks to elucidate the pain that accompanies their alienation from the lifeworld in which nonetheless they must continue to dwell.