Stories of despair: a Kierkegaardian read of suffering and selfhood in survivorship

The research project was funded by the Danish Cancer Society and ended in December 2018. It consists of in-depth interviews with 14 survivors on their sense of existential being post cancer. I conducted all the interviews that were subsequently transcribed. Interviews would last between 1 and 2 h. Some participants were interviewed twice. My participants had, on average, been out of treatment for 8½ years and represented a variety of cancer types, such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-Hodgins and Hodgins lymphoma, kidney and pancreatic cancer. Four participants were in their 60s, four in their 50s, four in the 40s, one was in her late 30s and one was 25 at the time of the interview. The oldest participant was 69. There were 12 women and two men in the project. Educationally, the group was diverse and included, for example, a physiotherapist, a journalist, an actor, a nurse and a primary school teacher. There were no university scholars or academics. Participants had heard of the project online either through an interview I did for the Danish Cancer Society's newsletter, for the Danish patient organization for late-effects of cancer or through the website of a participant of a former research project. Selection was based on whether the participants still struggled with finding a firm, existential footing post cancer and if they had been out of treatment for 5 years or more.

Translation modified. The Hong translation has 'upbuilding' for the Danish word 'opbyggelse'. I prefer Alastair Hannay's choice of the word 'edification' in his translation of The Sickness Unto Death (New York: Penguin Books, 2004).

There is a long-standing debate within Kierkegaard scholarship about the nature of Kierkegaard's Christianity and understanding of faith. Unfortunately, the scope of this paper does not allow for a discussion on the matter. My read lends itself on the interpretation that Kierkegaard did not promote faith as regurgitating dogma or orthodoxy. Rather, he advocated faith as subjective passion (Danish: Lidenskab) that was to be lived, not mediated by clergy.