Patients used the internet to transform their cancer experiences.

METHODS Individual narrative interviews were usually done in the respondents’ homes. Participants were asked to tell their own stories from the time they began to suspect they had a problem. The interviewer then used a set of semistructured questions to explore how and why information and support was accessed. Interviews were read and coded using both anticipated and emergent themes and analysed using constant comparison. Negative cases were sought and discussed.