Why are rural breast cancer patients not surviving? Inequalities and intersectionality within breast cancer treatment for rural patients.

Rural breast cancer patients experience worse survival outcomes than their urban counterparts.

Rural communities are made up of a diverse range of people with differing, intertwining identities, who engage with the community at different levels; all of these issues and factors may influence breast cancer survival rates. Treatment receipt and adherence/completion are major determinants of cancer survival.

However, little research has investigated the role intersectional identities have on breast cancer treatment experiences in rural areas of England.

The aim of this PhD is to explore how intersectional identities, and sense of belonging to the community, of those living in rural areas of England influence breast cancer treatment outcomes.

This PhD will first ascertain how identity and rurality influence treatment decision-making and adherence as well as survival in a quantitative analysis of 'big data'.

This will be followed by longitudinal qualitative interviews which will further investigate how intersecting identities and level of rurality impact upon personal experiences of breast cancer treatment.

Taken together, these two phases will allow a deep and thorough understanding of how identity and rurality influence breast cancer treatment decision-making and adherence which may be behind the difference in survival rates.