After a breast cancer diagnosis during the pandemic, Kellie Chouinard turned to social media for support.
After earning her BA in English, Creative Writing and History from the University of Windsor in 2010 Chouinard pursued a master’s degree at the University of Calgary. Her career in industry led her to continually reassess how she could reintegrate education and learning into her life. This drive led her to enrol in a graduate certificate program in public relations and corporate communications at Fanshawe College, which in turn solidified her desire to pursue a PhD to study social media and digital communication more comprehensively.
One of the things that I’m researching is the ways these social media communities offer a sort of digital ‘safe space’ for young women with breast cancer to talk about some of the taboo aspects of their experiences such as grief and survivor’s guilt. The more these women share openly, the more others will share and build each other up.
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