Table 2.

Quotes related to participants’ knowledge of cancer heritability and experiences with cancer in families

Subthemes	Selected quotes
Knowledge of cancer heritability	Quote 1: “So, when it happened to my mother, it was …directly linked to me. My father too. I said to myself: Okay, so now [because of] the genetics…like it or not, you make the connection, and it goes downwards; I won’t escape from it.” Participant 8
	Quote 2: “it became clearer when my mother had her cancer … the same thing happened to my sister not long after. So we said: … there must be something. …we wanted to know […] if it was genetic or something like that.” Participant 1
	Quote 3: “ people question themselves […] less regarding familial history [of cancer] when it comes to certain types of cancers […]. We know a little bit more[…] what to do, […]. I wasn’t told [by providers]: […], it’s not genetic, because it’s known.” Participant 11
	Quote 4:“It came from her [her mother], yes. She was raising awareness [about the risk of cancer] and telling everyone to go get checked because ultimately […] if it’s found in time it’s okay, but when you have symptoms, it’s often too late […]” Participant 11
Family member concerns	Quote 5: “I think we automatically worry when there’s someone with cancer in the family knowing that there are more and more cancer cases, more and more palliative care cases. I think it worries more and more people.” Participant 8
	Quote 6: “I mostly experienced guilt because it’s my child, and the fear that my next children would have cancer […] So, at some point during the pregnancy, something happened that caused a mutation (genetic variant).” Participant 10
	Quote 7: “Well, sure in my case, my father, it was gastric cancer. So, we inquired […]to find out about the first symptom, to know if we too were affected by that type of cancer[…] It seems to me that we notice them [cancer symptoms]. I get the feeling that we are more alert near death; we see them [cancer symptoms] where there are none.” Participant 2
Timing for self-questioning about cancer heritability	Quote 8: “It was after death. Once death occurs, that’s when you actually start to think.” Participant 2
	Quote 9: “ the self-questioning […] has always been present, but really started, […] during the [genetic] process […]. It’s pretty recent. […]Since having my child, I say to myself: it’s better to know sooner than later.” Participant 13
	Quote 10: “I came back to be near my mother, with my family. […] it lasted for a long time […] So during that time, I thought about it [her own risk of cancer] more or less. […] the concern was there, but I didn’t have the time to focus on it.” Participant 8