Original article Identity and psychological ownership in chronic illness and disease stateec_120 276.282 W. KARNILOWICZ, bsocsc, diped (hons), msc, phd, maps, School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Karnilowicz W. (2011) European Journal of Cancer Care 20, 276–282 Identity and psychological ownership in chronic illness and disease state Psychological ownership is rarely considered in health discourse related to chronic illness or disease state. Construction of identity is an important consideration within this framework. This autoethnographic study explores psychological ownership and identity related to prostate cancer and chronic illness. Conclusions about the nature of psychological ownership and identity were gathered from the relevant literature and personal experience. Themes include the patient–healthcare professional relationship and that psychological ownership is personal and grounded in an individual’s sense of identity, control and perceived capacity to control illness or disease. Personal reﬂection through autoethnography guides discussion of psychological ownership and identity. Keywords: cultural, prostate cancer, psychological, international. I N T R O D U C T I O N At 50 years of age and largely as a result of media adver- tising and warnings in Australia associated with various forms of cancer, in May of 2004 I went into my local general practitioner’s (GP) surgery. None-the-wiser and among other standard tests the GP completed a rectal and blood (PSA – prostate-speciﬁc antigen) examination for prostate cancer. I feared little as there were an absence of real physical signs of medical problems prior to the tests Correspondence address: Wally Karnilowicz, School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Victoria University, PO Box 14428, Melbourne, Vic. 8001, Australia (e-mail: wally.karnilowicz@vu.edu.au). Author’s Note: Julia Scarfe is acknowledged for her editing and suggestions in the writing of this paper. This research received no speciﬁc grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-proﬁt sectors. Re-use of this article is permitted in accordance with the Terms and Conditions set out at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/onlineopen# OnlineOpen_Terms Accepted 4 July 2010 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2010.01220.x European Journal of Cancer Care, 2011, 20, 276–282 © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the result of the rectal examination was clear. However, my daily thoughts and activities were disrupted some days after on receiving a phone call in my university ofﬁce requesting that I come back into the GP’s surgery to discuss my PSA result. There were alarm bells. I rushed from work immediately and my mind reﬂected through- out that 1-h journey. Within our meeting the doctor expressed concerns with my relatively high PSA score and suggested I should have further examinations to conﬁrm the existence of prostate cancer. Further tests over a period of months, including a biopsy and a series of scans through the Department of Urology at the Royal Mel- bourne Hospital, subsequently conﬁrmed that I had pros- tate cancer. Fitness and health are integral components of my iden- tity and the news that I had cancer was initially devastat- ing. It affected me in more ways and more deeply than I thought possible. The disease invaded every part of my psychological self and was borne as much out of a fear of the unknown as the known. I was overwhelmed by the disease and life did not extend beyond the near and imme- diate days. The dates of the many medical appointments and additional tests were a ‘blur’ and every little back pain or slight illness was a sign for the worst. In time, the