Passage: Living While Dying – Constructions and Resignifications During Cancer

Abstract

Abstract: This article reflects on the personal experience of supporting my husband through his journey with metastatic cancer and explores how death has become a constant presence in our daily lives. Through this intimate lens, I examine how contemporary Western society grapples with death and the re-signification of life in the face of its imminent threat. The diagnosis brought to light micro-violences and experiences of isolation, which were intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, illustrating how cancer, a disease surrounded by stigma, affects not only the patient but also their loved ones. The reflection begins from the premise that, while death is often described as taboo in Western culture, this view may be more complex, involving both denial and exposure. The analysis draws on authors such as Susan Sontag and Norbert Elias, who emphasize the fear and isolation associated with death and cancer, and Annemarie Mol, who critiques the hegemony of biomedicine. This medical dominance, with its focus on technological and pharmacological interventions, often dehumanizes the patient, neglecting the illness’s emotional and social impacts. The article also examines the experience of liminality in terminal illnesses, especially cancer, through Victor Turner’s theory of rites of passage. In this liminal state, individuals are caught between social categories, neither fully within nor outside of them, prompting profound reflection on one’s role in society and on the core values of life. In terminal illness, this transitional state intensifies, positioning both patient and caregiver in a “living-dying” experience, where life and death exist in a constant tension. Finally, the article proposes an understanding of death not as a sudden end to life but as a profound transition. This transitional view urges a re-examination of our values, relationships, and the deepest meanings we ascribe to life itself, recognizing that death, rather than being solely an end, is also an invitation to engage deeply with what it means to live.