Response-A Commentary on Miles Little et al. 1998. Liminality: A major category of the experience of cancer illness. Social Science & Medicine 47(10): 1485-1494.

This paper by Miles Little and colleagues identified the state they described as "liminal" within the trajectory of cancer survivorship. Since that time the concept of liminality has provided a powerful model to explore some of the difficulties experienced by people with severe and chronic illness. In this commentary I consider the expanding application of liminality not just to a widening range of medical conditions but to the consequences of therapeutic interventions as well and how this expansion has enriched and challenged its use as a conceptual tool.