Surviving survivorship: Adults surviving childhood cancers experiences

Drawing on Victor Turner's (1974) theory of liminality and communitas and Miles et al.'s concept of sustained liminality (1998), this qualitative study investigates the ongoing experiences of adults surviving childhood cancers (ASCCs), within social and cultural contexts. Twenty-five ASCCs participated in this study. Illness narratives were used to understand ASCCs' experiences past the acute diagnosis of and treatment for cancer. Three themes emerged from the data analysis to reflect ASCCs' experiences: (1) personal meanings of illness, (2) interpersonal connections, and (3) structural limitations. Results of this study suggest that ASCCs continue to live in a permanent state of liminality. In this state, they create new fluid identities and communities that are defined by unknowns. Additionally, ASCCs' survivorship is influenced by ongoing social supports, as well as by access to insurance and follow-up care in adulthood. The results of this study are significant in providing insight into how people surviving cancer conceptualize and reconceptualize their identities, community, and support over time.