Navigating migration and cancer in Asia: A narrative analysis of stories told by Filipino migrant domestic workers with breast cancer

Abstract

This article presents the narrative analysis of interview data collected from 15 migrant domestic workers (MDWs) from the Philippines who were diagnosed with breast cancer in Hong Kong. The analysis draws on a social constructionist understanding of identity as multiple and performed through language, communication, and social interaction to explore how these MDWs narrated their cancer experiences and changing identities as they worked to incorporate serious illness into their lives as MDWs. The narratives of these MDWs highlight their multiple and changing identities as they move and communicate across places, systems of migration and networks of relationships.