Digital illness narratives, commoning, and identity reconstruction among breast cancer survivors in post-pandemic China

to examine their sense of bodily 'loss' as well as eroded traditional support networks. Grounded in Arthur Frank's illness narrative typology, restitution, chaos, and quest were identified as the key narrative modes articulating participants' sense of loss. Findings revealed that the online sharing of experiences and emotions fostered a form of 'commoning' in the form of a collective process of collective healing and coalition-building within a digital environment. Through shared narrative practices, participants sought to achieve healing and empowerment, challenged dominant gender norms, and reimagined bodily symbols to construct queer forms of embodiment. Within this framework, 'life writing' functioned as a mechanism for identity reconstruction through narrative construction and community interaction. In this way, the critical role of digital illness narratives in providing psychosocial support, sustaining solidarity, and enabling identity transformation during health crises was affirmed.

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Publication Details

Journal
Culture Health & Sexuality
Published
2026-04-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2026.2658074
Primary Topic
Cancer survivorship and care
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Digital illness narratives, commoning, and identity reconstruction among breast cancer survivors in post-pandemic China

Ruishu Dong, Senrui Xu
Culture Health & Sexuality
Cancer survivorship and care
article

Digital illness narratives, commoning, and identity reconstruction among breast cancer survivors in post-pandemic China

Ruishu Dong, Senrui Xu
article en

Abstract

to examine their sense of bodily 'loss' as well as eroded traditional support networks. Grounded in Arthur Frank's illness narrative typology, restitution, chaos, and quest were identified as the key narrative modes articulating participants' sense of loss. Findings revealed that the online sharing of experiences and emotions fostered a form of 'commoning' in the form of a collective process of collective healing and coalition-building within a digital environment. Through shared narrative practices, participants sought to achieve healing and empowerment, challenged dominant gender norms, and reimagined bodily symbols to construct queer forms of embodiment. Within this framework, 'life writing' functioned as a mechanism for identity reconstruction through narrative construction and community interaction. In this way, the critical role of digital illness narratives in providing psychosocial support, sustaining solidarity, and enabling identity transformation during health crises was affirmed.

Culture Health & Sexuality
Qingdao Huanghai University (CN), National University of Malaysia (MY)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Cancer survivorship and care
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Digital illness narratives, commoning, and identity reconstruction among breast cancer survivors in post-pandemic China — Ruishu Dong, Senrui Xu · Culture Health & Sexuality (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS