Patient pathways as social drama: a qualitative study of cancer trajectories from the patient’s perspective

Purpose: The number of persons living with and beyond cancer is increasing. Such persons often have complex needs that last, and change, over time. The aim of this study is to get insights of lived experience of person diagnosed with colorectal cancer and to create an understanding of cancer trajectories as a dynamic process. This study thus explores Victor Turner’s model of social drama in a cancer care context. Method: Turner suggests that crisis is a dynamic process structured by four phases: 1) breach of norm 2) crisis 3) redressive actions 4) reintegration or schism. The research team employed content analysis to explore material gathered through a series of qualitative interviews with nine Norwegian cancer patients over a period of one year. Results: To the authors’ knowledge, Turner’s model has not earlier been applied to such materials. The results show that Turner’s model of social drama is useful in achieving new and possibly important knowledge on illness trajectories from a lived experience perspective. Conclusions: The model of social drama may contribute to a deeper understanding of the processes patients are going through in long-term illness trajectories, demonstrating that illness is not a static matter.