Cancer Stories from the Woodland Cree: Exploring perceptions of cancer, health and illness in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada($65.00Value)

Description

The semi-isolated conditions of Northern Saskatchewan provide challenges for both health care workers and patients receiving cancer care. Since limited information exists on the way cancer is perceived and experienced, the views of cancer, health and illness among the Woodland Cree were explored. Perceptions of cancer, health and illness were elicited through 18 personal interviews and two group interviews from participants. The concepts of health and illness among the Woodland Cree show that there is a complex intertwining of Western and traditional belief systems. Knowledge systems of the Woodland Cree include the seminal role Elders have within the communities as teachers and knowledge keepers. Cancer as experienced by the Woodland Cree reflects the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects of having cancer or having a family member with cancer, including the challenges of receiving timely diagnoses and cancer care in isolated northern communities. Furthermore, the Woodland Cree have the capacity to pick the best from both the Western and traditional worlds.