Stable, fragile and recreated – a qualitative study of agency in everyday life with breast and prostate cancer

Purpose: This study aims to explore how agency is constructed in everyday life with cancer in relation to daily activities and habits. Agency is approached as a key element of daily life existence, and it is constructed in terms of “acting in the world”, self-behaviour, changing routines, identity expectations and life course. Methods: The study is based on a social constructionist approach and the data of 32 participants were gathered through a public call for narratives on “everyday life with breast and prostate cancer” in Finland in 2009. The analysis was conducted by utilizing a discursive research approach and coding. Results: Three categories of agency were identified: stable—where agency continues fluently after cancer; fragile—where the ability to take care of daily activities has deteriorated; and recreated—where living with cancer adapts or creates a new basis for daily living. Conclusions: The findings of the study suggest that everyday life activities and habits define and (de)construct agency, and that these constructions are tightly linked to the ill person’s overall life situation, physical abilities and cultural context. Having cancer can create new challenges to agency in daily life but does not suppress agency.