Affect Theory and Breast Cancer Memoirs: Rescripting Fears of Death and Dying in the Anthropocene

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-29
Author(s):  
Jennifer Mae Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Medical Humanities ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
Environmental Humanities ◽  
Cultural Narratives ◽  
Human Exceptionalism ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Affective Dimensions

Re-evaluating dominant cultural narratives around dying and death is central to new critiques of individualism and human exceptionalism. As conceptual tools for theorizing the end of the individual proliferate, the affective dimensions of this project are often overlooked, especially as they pertain to individual subjects. In contrast, a significant number of iconic queer and feminist thinkers have suffered breast cancer and written memoirs representing the subjective experience of confronting mortality. This article identifies the affective orientations towards one’s own mortality as missing from queer and feminist thinking on embodiment in the Anthropocene. As a remedy, the article reads several iconic feminist breast cancer memoirs – Sontag, Lorde, Sedgwick, Jain and Boyer – for their complex representations of affect, in particular fear, in relation to dying and death. Using the affect theory of Silvan Tomkins, this analysis contributes to critiques of cancer culture in medical humanities and of mortality and embodiment in feminist environmental humanities.

Drowning in negativism, self-hate, doubt, madness: Linguistic insights into Sylvia Plath’s experience of depression

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsófia Demjén
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Medical Humanities ◽  
Sylvia Plath ◽  
Individual Experience ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Linguistic Approach

This paper demonstrates how a range of linguistic methods can be harnessed in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the ‘lived experience’ of psychological disorders. It argues that such methods should be applied more in medical contexts, especially in medical humanities. Key extracts from The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath are examined, as a case study of the experience of depression. Combinations of qualitative and quantitative linguistic methods, and inter- and intra-textual comparisons are used to consider distinctive patterns in the use of metaphor, personal pronouns and (the semantics of) verbs, as well as other relevant aspects of language. Qualitative techniques provide in-depth insights, while quantitative corpus methods make the analyses more robust and ensure the breadth necessary to gain insights into the individual experience. Depression emerges as a highly complex and sometimes potentially contradictory experience for Plath, involving both a sense of apathy and inner turmoil. It involves a sense of a split self, trapped in a state that one cannot overcome, and intense self-focus, a turning in on oneself and a view of the world that is both more negative and more polarized than the norm. It is argued that a linguistic approach is useful beyond this specific case.

scholarly journals Combined Luteolin and Indole-3-Carbinol Synergistically Constrains ERα-Positive Breast Cancer by Dual Inhibiting Estrogen Receptor Alpha and Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Pathway in Cultured Cells and Xenograft Mice

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2116
Author(s):  
Xiaoyong Wang ◽  
Lijuan Zhang ◽  
Qi Dai ◽  
Hongzong Si ◽  
Longyun Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Breast Cancer Cell ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Cyclin Dependent Kinase ◽  
Xenograft Mice ◽  
The Individual

The high concentrations of individual phytochemicals in vitro studies cannot be physiologically achieved in humans. Our solution for this concentration gap between in vitro and human studies is to combine two or more phytochemicals. We screened 12 phytochemicals by pairwise combining two compounds at a low level to select combinations exerting the synergistic inhibitory effect of breast cancer cell proliferation. A novel combination of luteolin at 30 μM (LUT30) and indole-3-carbinol 40 μM (I3C40) identified that this combination (L30I40) synergistically constrains ERα+ breast cancer cell (MCF7 and T47D) proliferation only, but not triple-negative breast cancer cells. At the same time, the individual LUT30 and I3C40 do not have this anti-proliferative effect in ERα+ breast cancer cells. Moreover, this combination L30I40 does not have toxicity on endothelial cells compared to the current commercial drugs. Similarly, the combination of LUT and I3C (LUT10 mg + I3C10 mg/kg/day) (IP injection) synergistically suppresses tumor growth in MCF7 cells-derived xenograft mice, but the individual LUT (10 mg/kg/day) and I3C (20 mg/kg/day) do not show an inhibitory effect. This combination synergistically downregulates two major therapeutic targets ERα and cyclin dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6/retinoblastoma (Rb) pathway, both in cultured cells and xenograft tumors. These results provide a solid foundation that a combination of LUT and I3C may be a practical approach to treat ERα+ breast cancer cells after clinical trials.

scholarly journals Considerations for the Management of Women with Breast Cancer during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (03) ◽  
pp. 260-263
Author(s):  
Monica Irukulla ◽  
Palwai Vinitha Reddy
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Current Availability ◽  
The Individual

AbstractOutcomes in cancer patients are strongly influenced by timeliness and quality of multidisciplinary interventions. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to severe disruption in cancer care in many countries. This has necessitated several changes in clinical care and workflow, including resource allocation, team segregation and deferment of many elective procedures. Several international oncological societies have proposed guidelines for the care of patients afflicted with breast cancer during the pandemic with a view to optimize resource allocation and maximize risk versus benefit for the individual and society. Clinicians may utilize these recommendations to adapt patient care, based on the current availability of resources and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in each region. This article discusses the guidelines for care of patients afflicted with breast cancer during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Is Mastectomy Oncologically Safer than Breast-Conserving Treatment in Early Breast Cancer

Breast Care ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 385-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Riedel ◽  
André Hennigs ◽  
Sarah Hug ◽  
Benedikt Schaefgen ◽  
Christof Sohn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Breast Surgery ◽  
Breast Conservation ◽  
Breast Cancer Surgery ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Aesthetic Outcome ◽  
Breast Conserving Treatment ◽  
Routine Treatment ◽  
Oncological Safety ◽  
The Individual

Aim: To describe and discuss the evidence for oncological safety of different procedures in oncological breast surgery, i.e. breast-conserving treatment versus mastectomy. Methods: Literature review and discussion. Results: Oncological safety in breast cancer surgery has many dimensions. Breast-conserving treatment has been established as the standard surgical procedure for primary breast cancer and fits to the preferences of most breast cancer patients concerning oncological safety and aesthetic outcome. Conclusions: Breast-conserving treatment is safe. Nonetheless, the preferences of the individual patients in their consideration of breast conservation versus mastectomy should be integrated into routine treatment decisions.

scholarly journals THE NEED FOR INFORMATION AND THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AS FACTORS OF CRITICAL AND UNCRITICAL DISSEMINATION OF PANDEMIC NEWS

2021 ◽  
pp. 170-195
Author(s):  
Elena I. Rasskazova ◽  
Galina V. Soldatova ◽  
Yulia Y. Neyaskina ◽  
Olga S. Shiriaeva
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Experience ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Digital World ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

Relevance. The modern society creates the image of a successful person as actively interacting with different information flows, including an impressive stream of news content. This paper assumes that there is a personal need for tracking and spreading news that develops in the interaction between person and digital world. The individual level of this need could explain the interaction with information (its critical and uncritical dissemination) and the subjective experience of its redundancy and inaccuracy, including those experiences and actions in a pandemic situation. The aim of the study was to reveal the relationship of the subjective need for news with personal values, beliefs about technologies (“technophilia”) and the dissemination of news about the pandemic. Method. 270 people (aged 18 to 61) filled out The short (Schwartz) Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ), Beliefs about New Technologies Questionnaire, Monitoring of Information about Coronavirus Scale as well as items on the subjective need for receiving and disseminating news, readiness for critical and non-critical dissemination of news about pandemics, subjective experiences of redundancy and distrust of pandemic-related information. Results. According to the results, the Need for News Scale allows assessing the subjective importance of receiving news and discussing them with other people and is characterized by sufficient consistency and factor validity. The need for regular news is more pronounced among men, older people, people with higher education, married people, people who have children, while the need to discuss news is not related to sociodemographic factors. For people, who are more prone to technophilia, it is more important to regularly receive and discuss news information with others, which, in turn, mediates the relationship between technophilia and monitoring news about coronavirus. The need for news dissemination mediates the relationship between technophilia and readiness for critical and non-critical dissemination of information about the pandemic.

scholarly journals “We Thought We Were Alone”: The Subjective Experience of the Siblings of Anorexic Adolescent Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Persico ◽  
Salome Grandclerc ◽  
Catherine Giraud ◽  
Marie Rose Moro ◽  
Corinne Blanchet
Keyword(s):  
Support Group ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Family Based ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Sibling Group

Objective: The siblings of patients suffering from Anorexia Nervosa (AN) are potentially affected by a disturbed emotional experience that often remains undetected. In order to bring them a psychological support, the Maison de Solenn proposed a support group program for these siblings. The current research explores their mental representations of AN and their emotional experience in the support group named “sibling group.”Method: This exploratory study is based on a phenomenological and inductive qualitative method. Four girls and three boys aged between 6 and 19 participating in the “sibling group” were included in a one-time focus group session using a semi-structured interview guide. The thematic data analysis was performed by applying the methods of interpretative phenomenological analysis.Results: Themes that emerged from the interview fall into four categories: AN explained by siblings; the individual emotional experience of siblings; the family experience of siblings and the experience inside the “sibling group.”Discussion: According to our participants, the “sibling group” thus functions as a good compromise between keeping an active role in the anorexic patient's care and taking a step back to avoid being eaten up by the illness. Sibling-group participants retrieved a sense of belonging, which is normally one of the functions of being a sibling. It is important to note that the “sibling group” is part of the comprehensive (or global) family-based approach included in an institutional multidisciplinary integrative care framework.

scholarly journals Grace of God: A Phenomenological Inquiry

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thangbiakching ◽  
Dr. Eric Soreng
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Phenomenological Inquiry ◽  
Unconditional Love ◽  
Natural Knowledge ◽  
Essential Nature ◽  
Aged Individual ◽  
Christian Understanding ◽  
The Individual

Grace, in the Christian understanding, is the unconditional love, the free, and undeserved favor of God. Grace, in this context, is not of man, but of the Divine through which the knowledge of truth is gained— truth that surpasses man’s natural knowledge and experience; by which the soul is likened to the Divine. In this paper, an attempt is made to decipher (through phenomenological inquiry) the experience of grace in the life of a middle-aged individual and how it provide resilience in the functioning of ones’ everyday life. The paper also discusses the possibility of the essential nature of the experience of Gods’ grace as it look into the subjective experience of the individual.

scholarly journals Professional improvising musicians couple more closely in timing and tonality when simultaneously rather than successively recording

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Setzler ◽  
Robert Goldstone
Keyword(s):  
Joint Action ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Music Technology ◽  
Musical Structure ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Common Goal ◽  
Mutual Adaptation ◽  
Jazz Music ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Adaptive Condition

Joint action (JA) is ubiquitous in our cognitive lives. From basketball teams to teams of surgeons, humans often coordinate with one another to achieve some common goal. Despite this ubiquity, the individual mechanisms and group-level dynamics of complex, sophisticated JA are poorly understood. We examine coordination in a paragon domain for creative joint expression: improvising jazz musicians. Coordination in jazz music is improvised and subserves an aesthetic goal: the generation of a collective musical expression comprising coherent, highly nuanced musical structure (e.g. rhythm, harmony). In this study, dyads of professional jazz pianists improvised in a "coupled", mutually adaptive condition, and an "overdubbed" condition which precluded mutual adaptation, as occurs in common studio recording practices. Using a model of musical tonality, we quantify the flow of rhythmic and harmonic information between musicians as a function of interaction condition, and show that mutually responsive dyads produce more consonant harmonies, an ability which increases throughout the course of improvised performance. These musical signatures of coordination were paralleled in the subjective experience of improvisers, who preferred coupled trials despite being blind to condition. We present these results and discuss their implications for music technology and JA research more generally.

scholarly journals Don’t let it disappear: new opportunities to prolong the life of HR+ HER2- advanced breast cancer patients. Event review of the satellite symposium. RUSSCO Big Conference «Breast Cancer» (online). January 28th, 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-60
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Advanced Breast Cancer ◽  
Median Overall Survival ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Advanced Breast ◽  
Satellite Symposium ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
The Individual

Increasing life expectancy and maintaining its quality are the main goals of the hormone-dependent HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (HR+ HER2- аBC) therapy. A Satellite Symposium of Novartis Pharma was held on January 28th, 2021, within the framework of the RUSSCO Big Conference Breast Cancer. It was dedicated to the benefits of Risarg (ribociclib) therapy in combination with hormone therapy (HT). Experts-oncologists shared current data and their experience with ribociclib. The combination of CDK4/6 inhibitors with HT became a gold standard for the 1st line therapy for HR+ HER2- aBC. And the choice of a specific drug is based on the data of clinical studies and is made taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient. The results of ribociclib studies (MONALEESA-3 and MONALEESA-7) demonstrate a significant increase in the median overall survival and a decrease in the risk of death by 28 and 30%. The tolerance profile of ribociclib is well studied and controlled, therefore the risks of adverse events can be reduced by the competent monitoring, and the necessary dose modification can be made, which allows most patients to maintain highly effective therapy. The use of ribociclib allows to achieve the main goals of therapy to prolong the patients life and maintain or improve its quality.

Combination of individual tumor gene expression profiles and quantitative ultrasound and mammography imaging to understand the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy among Hispanic-Latina women with early stages of triple-negative breast cancer.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e12605-e12605
Author(s):  
Alexander Philipovskiy ◽  
Sumit Gaur ◽  
Karen Chambers ◽  
Roberto Gamez ◽  
Renato Aguilera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Gene Expression ◽  
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy ◽  
Triple Negative ◽  
Tumor Response ◽  
Residual Disease ◽  
Complete Response ◽  
Response To Chemotherapy ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Individual

e12605 Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer (BC) characterized by the absence of targetable receptors. Traditionally, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has been used to downstage the tumors and increase the chance for breast-conserving surgery. The pathological complete response (pCR) has been traditionally considering the best predictive marker for the disease recurrence. Patients with residual disease (RD) have a poor prognosis with a high risk of recurrence, and therefore additional chemotherapy was recommended. Therefore it is an important task for clinical researchers to identify markers to predict the individual tumor response to chemotherapy and avoid in patients potentially resistant tumors. Instead, a surgical approach can be used or combined approach with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. It is not clear yet which approach is optimal for those patients with chemotherapy-resistant tumors since there is no clinical data available and no clinical tool that helps predict the individual tumor response. In this study, we examined breast ultrasound(US) images of patients before and after the completion of NACT and correlated with response to chemotherapy. To better understand the biology of resistance to chemotherapy, we also analyzed the gene expression profile of 15 patients with RD after NACT. Methods: In this study, we retrospective analyzed breast US data from 37 Hispanic patients diagnosed with TNBC and treated with NACT. Patients underwent breast US before and after NACT with documentation of clinical complete response (cCR) or clinical residual disease (cRD). Post-operatively, the pathologic response was defined as the absence of tumor cells (pCR) or presence of residual invasive tumor (RD). A multivariable logistic regression model assessed the influence of patient- and tumor-associated covariates as predictors for pCR. Also, we analyzed formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor samples from 15 patients with RD after NACT. Results: Seventeen patients (45.9%) achieved pCR, and twenty (54.1%) had RD after NACT. The most common US findings connected with RD was the deposition of calcium before NACT six (30%) patients. Gene expression analysis of RD samples identified 446 upregulated and 275 downregulated genes. Among commonly upregulated genes related to cancer, we identified GLI1, IGF1, SERPINE1, ATF3, KLK 5; 7, and TUBB2b, and genes belonging to pathways encoding extracellular matrix–related proteins, DNA-damage response proteins, and pathways related to resistance to chemotherapeutic agents such as Taxol. Conclusions: Our data suggested that gene expression profiling in combination with imaging study can be used to identify patients with TNBC potentially resistant to chemotherapy.

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