Facing Malignancy: Women’s Lived Realities of Breast Cancer in Central Vietnam

My thesis examines how breast cancer is understood and managed in Vietnam based on nine-month ethnography using observation, interviews with 37 patients, 11 healthcare providers, and three focus groups. I demonstrate that people widely perceive breast cancer as a modern disease which vitally requires biomedical interventions to detect and manage its malignancy. Pursuing breast cancer treatment is not merely an event of biological nature but has become a “long-term career” for the sufferers of this illness. My research highlights the structural vulnerability and health access problems, but also the nuances of women’s agency in their responses to this pathological condition