Opening up for science: men with cancer navigating illness and qualitative research

Men are frequently underrepresented in psychological support services and qualitative research, two settings that call for some kind of vulnerability. Qualitative research methods, such as focus groups and interviews, provide unique opportunities to explore thoughts and feelings expressed regarding their personal experience with cancer and bear witness to how men construct and make sense of their self.

Grounded in a social constructionist paradigm, this study adopted a critical stance to explore how 31 men constructed their self and made sense of their experience with cancer in the context of individual interviews or focus groups. A reflexive thematic analysis was used, with additional attention to the interactional and action-oriented features of participants' accounts.

Three themes are presented: The Male Burden, Cancer Was Stronger, and My Dad Was Not Very Emotional, but I Can Be.

In recounting their experience with cancer, men in this study navigated between conforming to dominant masculinity norms and embracing vulnerability within a generally non-judgmental and safe research space. Although deviations from these norms were challenging, emancipation from these constraints offered a transformative and empowering opportunity for men to reshape the narrative around illness and masculinity.