Breast Cancer Genes and the Gendering of Knowledge

The book examines the social and cultural context of new genetic knowledge associated with breast cancer. It looks at how this knowledge and technologies are used and received in two contrasting social arenas--cancer genetic clinics and a breast cancer research charity.

Sahra Gibbon Department of Anthropology, University of London

Introduction * PART 1: CANCER GENETIC CLINICS * The Activism of Patients--Awareness and Visibility * Technologies of the Clinic--Tools, Tests and Explanatory Strategies * 'Care', Knowledge and the 'Nurturing Woman' * Working with BRCA Genes--The Ambivalence of Practitioners * PART 2: A BREAST CANCER RESEARCH CHARITY * The Alchemy of Loss and Hope * Scientists and the Making of 'Monuments' for the Living * Between Hope and High Risk * Conclusion * Notes * Bibliography * Index Introduction * PART 1: CANCER GENETIC CLINICS * The Activism of Patients--Awareness and Visibility * Technologies of the Clinic--Tools, Tests and Explanatory Strategies * 'Care', Knowledge and the 'Nurturing Woman' * Working with BRCA Genes--The Ambivalence of Practitioners * PART 2: A BREAST CANCER RESEARCH CHARITY * The Alchemy of Loss and Hope * Scientists and the Making of 'Monuments' for the Living * Between Hope and High Risk * Conclusion * Notes * Bibliography * Index