SELF-CARE AND MASCULINITIES: ON CARDIAC DISEASE AND STEM CELL TREATMENT AMONG OLDER CANADIAN MEN

Cardiac diseases are responsible for a high number of premature deaths and disabilities, especially among older men. And although there exists now a “misery of choice” (Jones 2013) regarding the manifold kinds of interventions targeting heart diseases, about 50% of individuals die within 5 years after a severe cardiac incident. Stem cell treatments provide major hope for these patients, despite thin evidence for its effectiveness in humans. I present findings from interviews with older men who had undergone experimental stem cell treatment for severe heart disease as subjects in a randomized blind control trial. Men’s accounts demonstrated their major trust in the experimental stem cell procedure and they also revealed that cardiac recovery was tightly linked to common ideals of masculinity: The regeneration of the damaged organ meant the rebuilding of a masculine identity closely intertwined with physical activity and productivity.