This paper explores questions of the permissible and the impermissible in breastcancer narratives. It deploys (inter alia) a theory of discourse and counterdiscourse
to argue that the genre itself of the personal narrative performs a regulatory function
in public discourse on cancer. The paper is inspired by an idea introduced into science
studies by Schiebinger and Proctor – the idea of agnotology: the cultural production
of ignorance. The paper argues that ignorance about cancer is maintained, in part,
by the rehearsal of stories that have standard plots and features, and that suppress
or displace other stories. The paper turns on examples of both conventional and
unconventional stories. It focuses on Barbara Ehrenreich’s renegade cancer story
and its public reception, and Wendy Mesley’s renegade cancer documentary and the
public reception of that. The paper seeks to contribute to genre studies by analyzing
instances of a genre of public discourse, and suggesting the nature of the social action
performed by the genre itself.