Young adolescents living in the liminal space of cancer: A narrative inquiry study

BackgroundA cancer diagnosis changes how adolescents view their world as they confront the reality of side effects from cancer-related treatment, loss, changes to their usual routines, and feeling isolated. The cancer experience of adolescents has been studied previously. However, little is known about the young adolescent’s experience of cancer.AimTo explore young adolescents’ (11–15 years) experience during the first year of their diagnosis.MethodsA qualitative narrative inquiry was undertaken. Interviews were conducted with 11 young adolescents in the first 3–6 weeks after a cancer diagnosis. Clandinin’s conceptual framework of the three dimensions of narrative inquiry (Sociality, Temporality, and Place) was used to analyse the data.FindingsThree interrelated threads were revealed: (1) confronting cancer, loss, and altered embodiment; (2) feeling stuck in time and place (a liminal space); (3) staying connected across time and changing landscapes.DiscussionInsights revealed the challenges for young adolescents as they navigated the expected physical and social developmental norms when diagnosed with cancer. Young adolescents with cancer appear to experience being constrained in a dual liminal space as they transition from childhood to being an older adolescent.ConclusionsThese findings illustrate liminality related to the experience of cancer for this group in the context of the dimensions of Clandinin and Connelly’s framework: Sociality, Temporality, and Spatiality. The unique needs of young adolescents were identified in this study.