The Social Benefits of Cancer Diagnosed and Treated during Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Adolescence and young adulthood are transitional phases that alter every aspect of a young person’s life. However, their transitions can be disrupted by a number of crises including the onset of a severe illness such as cancer. Young people can experience cancer as a social crisis because it can cause dependence on others for care. It also removes them from their usual social worlds for treatment potentially resulting in social isolation. Despite this, young people identify social benefits arising from their cancer experience. This chapter aims to describe the social benefits of the cancer experience for young people and to explain these benefits in terms of their transitional period of development. The findings reported in this paper are based upon 49 semi-structured interviews with 27 young people aged between 16 and 29 years who had survived cancer. I conducted a thematic analysis of these interviews guided by the theoretical perspective of Symbolic Interactionism. Participants reported finding benefits in their cancer experience that manifested in their relationships with parents and peers. Cancer illness and treatment resulted in enhanced intimacy between participants and their parents as they shared time together and discussed weighty issues of life and death. Participants also reported developing greater wisdom and insight into life’s problems than their peers. They spoke of using this wisdom and insight for the benefit of others as well as themselves. Finally, participants reported receiving heightened attention from their peers that enhanced their status amongst their peer group and made them ‘special.' Young people experience cancer as a crisis during the period of acute illness and treatment. However, they find social benefits for themselves and others from this crisis during their period of remission and recovery. The benefits are perceived differently by young people in different phases of the transition from childhood to adulthood.