In Kuwada, K., Villar-Lubek, S., Thepner, M., Zhou, T., & Macioti, A. (Eds.), Discourses of Inclusive and Exclusionary Health Communication. Routledge.
Overview
This overview is an editorial summary provided for orientation. It is not the author's published abstract.
This chapter uses Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to look at how migration shapes a woman's sense of self when she is also living with breast cancer. The authors interviewed ten low-income Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong who were diagnosed between 2016 and 2023. All interviews were in English. Two themes stood out. First, the women's jobs and visas were precarious: Hong Kong offered them affordable treatment, but only if they could keep their employers happy. Second, the women had to rework who they were, balancing patient, mother, and breadwinner roles, and many felt let down by the Philippine consulate. The authors argue for migration policy reform, and offer a rare non-Western view of cancer and identity.