Abstract: 

This project explores the ways in which interlocutors in research interviews talk about end-of-life. The data are interviews with women diagnosed with ovarian cancer (and their close relatives) undertaken for another purpose, who self-initiate talk about death and dying. We consider how interviewees discursively navigate between positions readily available to them from dominant discourses around cancer and explore whether such talk reflects constraints for our interviewees, which could be addressed for their benefit. 

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Objectives: 

• To examine the ways in which topics related to end-of-life are raised in the research interviews. 

• To explore the discourse strategies used by both interviewer and interviewees in the ongoing interaction related to death and dying. 

• To consider how the discourses relate to dominant discourses around cancer. 

• To present the findings in order to support healthcare professionals in facilitating their patients in discussing these topics.