Liminality as a Descriptor for the Cancer Experience

Abstract

Liminality has been used in medical anthropology to conceptualize the cancer experience (Little, Jordens, & Paul, 1998). This article discusses the results of a recent study that support this, that indeed having ovarian cancer can instill a sense of alienation from life as a person has known it. However, it is also suggested here that the term needs to be amended to include the social surround of a liminal experience, as well as the generative potential inherent in such an experience. The study is qualitative in nature and explores the subjectivity of nine women living with stage-three ovarian cancer. The recurrent nature of the disease with its poor survival rate was found to instill a kind of sustained trauma that is accentuated by experiences of suffering in connection to loss. Finally, a pressing need to speak with and find recognition from other women who shared the same site of cancer was found.