Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females in the UK with a total of 55,900 cases each year. Diagnosis of breast cancer and breaking bad news to patients requires experience and specific communication training. One of the key concepts which underpins breast cancer consultations is that it should be patient-centred and implement shared decision-making for the patient’s care plan. The information which is provided to patients is fundamental in ensuring such care. Against this background, the aim of the study is to carry out a comparative linguistic analysis of peer-reviewed scientific articles and recontextualised online information on the topic of breast cancer, shared decision-making and breast reconstruction. Using a mixed methods approach that relies on corpus linguistics as well as semi-structured interviews with breast surgeons and specialist breast unit nurses, a twofold analysis is carried out. Results reveal interesting patterns and discourse regarding decision-making and female identity