Getting to know our supporters has long been a passion of ours. The more we listen, the better we can understand what motivates them – what drives them to give up their precious time to raise vital funds for our research.
When Hetty applied to run the Oxford Half Marathon for us, we discovered that she had recently graduated from university. Her dissertation was on the portrayal of breast cancer in today’s media and the impact it may have on the viewers’ emotional wellbeing.
Hetty wanted to understand whether such portrayals contributed to worsened mental health or increased stress for the viewer. In short, is it counterproductive to watch this kind of media?
We were delighted when she agreed with us to share some key observations from her research:
The portrayal of breast cancer in today’s media
When we or someone we know receives a diagnosis of breast cancer, it’s natural to have questions. Amongst the first places sought for answers to these questions is likely to include online and the media.
But can we be sure of the quality of this information? Is it useful? Inspiring? Frightening? In essence, how is breast cancer being portrayed?
I limited my research to content on the biggest streaming services, non-fiction programmes (documentaries) about breast cancer. Analysis of the programmes identified these key themes:
Loss of femininity
Treatment often included a mastectomy and/or loss of hair, both deemed to be important components of femininity. Many of those featured had ‘head shaving ceremonies’ in which friends would take turns in shaving the head of the person with cancer, before each having their own heads shaven in support.
Lack of control
This encompasses further elements of uncertainty, and a perceived reduced amount of free will. Due to their treatment plans, many of the women were portrayed as feeling they no longer had control of their own life or their time.
Their new hospital commitments made them feel they no longer had control of their own schedules or calendars.
Becoming a burden
Both women and men featured in the documentaries said they felt as though they had become a burden to their friends and family. Treatment could be both physically and emotionally draining which in turn led to increased feelings of vulnerability.
This was particularly true of patients with children who found themselves needing help with childcare. This in turn led to feelings of guilt, because of the stress they believed they were causing others.
These themes of negativity were present throughout each of the documentaries.
However, there were three main themes that stood out as positives. In almost all of the documentaries there were strong, positive messages that were echoed by those affected.
Belonging to a new community
All of the patients felt that they now belonged to a new community and had a new group of confidantes.
Support groups, often run by charities, were featured being attended by women and men undergoing treatment or who were in remission. There was a general sentiment that, while they were grateful for the support of friends and family, it could often be hard for others who haven’t been through treatment to relate to and help as much as they would like.
A greater appreciation for life
For the women featured, it made smaller moments in life feel like they held more meaning. With the uncertainty introduced to their lives, they started to see every day as a blessing.
Furthermore, they felt that the treatment showed them areas of themselves and their life where they could further grow as a person. Each of the people featured acknowledged that following their diagnosis they had been able to see a better balance of good and bad in life.
A sense of purpose
As with having a greater appreciation of life, they found that after their diagnosis they could see the positives, and a number said that they had become the person they were meant to be.
Many of the women and men who had completed their treatment were drawn to charities and fundraisers to help raise awareness for the disease. They wanted to share their own experiences with others, to share what they have learnt on their own journey, and to ensure that no one must face the disease alone.
The documentaries all took care to highlight that there were positives to take despite a lifechanging breast cancer diagnosis.
Despite this, a loss of femininity, isolation, and poor emotional wellbeing resonated most strongly with the viewer. Although there are moments of joy and happiness, they are almost always overshadowed by the frankness of the toll of the disease.
The effects that documentaries, and media to a greater extent, have on the quality of life and emotional wellbeing, and the effects that these have on treatment, need to be understood further. To tackle the former, research such as interviews and surveys should be performed on those with cancer to understand how the messaging is received by them and how it affects them. For the latter, the relationship between mental and physical health needs to be further studied to appreciate more greatly how stresses and poor mental health can worsen the effects of living with breast cancer.
Hetty graduated with a degree in Cancer Sciences in 2024. She studied the causes and consequences of the disease, immunology, and novel therapies among many other subjects.
She found Against Breast Cancer while looking for a charity to raise funds for while running the Oxford Half Marathon. Hetty felt inspired to learn more about our research while volunteering at our offices and hopes to run more races in future. We would like to thank Hetty for sharing her research into the portrayal of breast cancer in today’s media.
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