The Conversation about Breast Cancer Care

Abstract

This article aims to illustrate an example of health communication by analyzing conversations between nurses and breast cancer patients after certain treatments. Excerpts from conversations from four counseling sessions of research were analyzed. Research data were collected in one of the northern provinces of Thailand or the so-called “Eastern Lanna” and analyzed by the method of Conversation Analysis (CA). The analysis showed that nurses and patients used techniques of references to third parties and list-construction to manage anxiety. The article also illustrates the use of apologetic speech forms to initiate the topic of death. Interlocutors navigated mutual sensitivity over discussions of death by referencing death indirectly, and applying leading questions in reformulating the topic.