Representing Cancer in Discourse and its Implication on Healthcare

CaHReF 2016, Yaoundé Conges hall, 23 – 26 August 2016 , PL147

This paper seeks to analyse how cancer is discursively represented in the life stories of cancer carers and cancer patients and the impact this has on healthcare. Cancer as observed by de Graft Aikins et al (2010) is one of the neglected chronic non-communicable diseases in Africa and mostly discovered when it is already at an advanced stage. Using a socio-cognitive approach to discourse analysis, (van Dijk 2009) the life stories of 8 cancer patients and 4 carers are recorded and analysed in a bid to find out 

1. how patients and carers discursively construct and represent the disease, 

2. how these representations affect patients’ and carers’ attitudes towards treatment and care giving,
3. finally cognitive metaphors used to represent the disease and its impact on attitudes, beliefs and behaviour towards the disease.

The results of the study indicate that, the perceptions, representations and metaphors used in the representation of cancer affect patients’ and carers’ decision to seek for medical attention, and that the hospital is usually a last bus stop in the treatment of cancer. The results also show that attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of patients, as identified in their discourses perceive the disease as witchcraft, mysterious and therefore seek traditional medicine or faith based healing and only reach the hospital at the last stages of the disease.
This study recommends more public sensitisation and screening of cancer than previously done, through a multidisciplinary perspective in a bid to demystify the disease.

cancer, representation, discourse, healthcare, witchcraft