‘There’s a before and an after’: effects of a personal history of cancer on perception of cancer risks and adoption of behaviours

In this article, we aim to better understand how a personal history of cancer influences perceptions of environmental risk factors for cancers and adoptions of health-related behaviours. Semi-structured individual and group interviews were conducted with French individuals with (n = 21) and without (n = 16) a personal history of cancer using the same topic guide. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed using a comparative approach. Our participants with and without a history of cancer tended to perceive the same environmental factors as causes of cancers, in particular pesticides and smoking. However, individuals without a history of cancer emphasised electromagnetic waves and sun exposure as causes of cancers while participants with a history of cancer emphasised unbalanced diet and stress/negative emotions. Our participants with a history of cancer tended to mention more factors than participants without. Finally, participants with a personal history of cancer all described themselves as adopting at least one behaviour mentioned as ‘healthier’, often following their cancer experience, while very few participants without a history of cancer mentioned adopting these behaviours. Participants with a history of cancer tended to be more concerned about environmental risk factors for cancers and about preventing cancers through adopting risk-reducing health-related behaviours than participants without a history of cancer. Our findings are consistent with and develop the idea that a personal experience of cancer can alter an individual’s 'experience and life world'. We also observed similarities between individuals with and without a personal history of cancer. Our contextual findings need to be confirmed by further research.