Research

Melanoma Survivor Narratives: Stories that Matter

Melanoma Survivor Narratives: Stories that Matter

Sharing melanoma survivor stories on online platforms allows survivors to cope with their emotions and share their journey. These freely accessible narratives allow readers who may be going through similar journeys to find unity and gain insight from the narrator’s experiences. These narratives also allow narrators to share advice, such as to avoid mistakes that they may have made. This study analyzed common themes in melanoma narratives posted on the AIM at Melanoma Foundation across 100 narratives across cancer stages 0 to 4. Themes were developed by reading and identifying commonalities among a subset of 10 narratives and by identifying themes from previous research. This content analysis showed that many narrators shared their stories to provide details about their treatment, releasing emotions, sharing advice, spreading hope, and sharing tanning experiences. Overall, this study shows that cancer narratives and their “teachable moments” can be implemented in melanoma prevention campaigns.