ABSTRACT
In engaging with the accounts of individuals and families, a number of major preoccupations are obtained. In this concluding chapter, the authors summarize these and reaffirm some of the principles that have guided their analysis. Some of the resulting commentary and analysis have been over-heated. There have been numerous arguments suggesting that new biomedical knowledge is having transformative effects, not only on science and medicine, but also on how ordinary social actors understand themselves, their bodies, their potential risks and their relationships. Differing beliefs about where the disease entity is seen to be coming from and the approximate risk calculus obtained within the clinical setting can affect patient and professional engagement. There is need for a space within the clinic where the burden of knowledge can be shared and not remain a crippling emotional subtext in the lives of people enmeshed in a network of risky relations.
