In this article, we aim to better understand how a personal history of cancer influences perceptions of environmental risk factors for cancers and adoptions of health-related behaviours. Semi-structured individual and group interviews were conducted with French individuals with (n = 21) and without (n = 16) a personal history of cancer using the same topic guide. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed using a comparative approach. Our participants with and without a history of cancer tended to perceive the same environmental factors as causes of cancers, in particular pesticides and smoking. However, individuals without a history of cancer emphasised electromagnetic waves and sun exposure as causes of cancers while participants with a history of cancer emphasised unbalanced diet and stress/negative emotions. Our participants with a history of cancer tended to mention more factors than participants without. Finally, participants with a personal history of cancer all described themselves as adopting at least one behaviour mentioned as ‘healthier’, often following their cancer experience, while very few participants without a history of cancer mentioned adopting these behaviours. Participants with a history of cancer tended to be more concerned about environmental risk factors for cancers and about preventing cancers through adopting risk-reducing health-related behaviours than participants without a history of cancer. Our findings are consistent with and develop the idea that a personal experience of cancer can alter an individual’s 'experience and life world'. We also observed similarities between individuals with and without a personal history of cancer. Our contextual findings need to be confirmed by further research.

在本文中，我们旨在更好地了解癌症的个人病史如何影响对癌症的环境风险因素以及与健康相关的行为的采用。使用相同的主题指南，对（n = 21）没有（n = 16）有癌症个人病史的法国人进行半结构化的个人和小组访谈。使用比较方法对访谈进行转录，编码和分析。我们有或没有癌症病史的参与者倾向于感知与癌症原因相同的环境因素，尤其是农药和吸烟。但是，没有癌症史的人强调电磁波和日晒是造成癌症的原因，而有癌症史的参与者则强调饮食不平衡和压力/负性情绪。与没有癌症的参与者相比，我们有癌症史的参与者倾向于提及更多的因素。最后，有个人癌症史的参与者都将自己描述为至少采取一种被称为“更健康”的行为，通常是根据他们的癌症经历，而很少有无癌症史的参与者则提到采用了这些行为。有癌症病史的参与者比没有癌症史的参与者更倾向于关注癌症的环境危险因素以及通过采取降低风险的健康相关行为来预防癌症。我们的发现与癌症的个人经历可以改变个人的“体验和生活世界”相一致，并发展出这样的观念。我们还观察了有无癌症个人病史的个体之间的相似性。我们的情境发现需要进一步的研究证实。