@article { , title = {A new normal?: Women's experiences of biographical disruption and liminality following treatment for early stage breast cancer}, abstract = {Increasing numbers of women are surviving breast cancer, but little is known about the long-term implications of having survived a life-threatening illness and living with embodied reminders of its potential to return. Twenty-four women aged between 42 and 80 (median 1/4 51)who had been treated for early stage breast cancer in the UK between 6 months and 29 years previously, were recruited through local media and interviewed. Analysis of their narratives revealed challenges in the post-treatment period that were conceptualised as biographical disruption and liminality. Although no longer ill, an ongoing fear of recurrence combined with embodied changes prevented a return to ‘normal’ i.e. a pre-cancer state in terms of health status, identity and relationships. We argue that following the biographical disruption of breast cancer, a ‘new normal’ entails a continual renegotiation of identities, daily lives and futures as time passes and lives evolve.}, doi = {10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.01.011}, eissn = {0277-9536}, issn = {0277-9536}, journal = {Social Science \& Medicine}, pages = {121-129}, publicationstatus = {Published}, publisher = {Elsevier}, url = {https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/978710}, volume = {151}, keyword = {UK, Breast cancer, Biographical disruption, Liminality, Post-treatment, ‘New normal’}, year = {2016}, author = {Trusson, Diane and Pilnick, Alison and Roy, Srila} }