A 2024 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs makes one thing unmistakably clear: cancer stigma can be a problem with real consequences for patients, survivors, and their families.
Researchers found that stigma touches people across cultures and communities, fueled by misconceptions, cultural or religious beliefs, and media portrayals that reinforce harmful stereotypes. It can show up in many forms—fatalistic beliefs about cancer, blaming individuals for their illness, social avoidance, or even outright discrimination in work, relationships, and access to care.
Read MoreOne of the most troubling findings: stigma can cause people to hide symptoms or avoid screening altogether, especially when they fear being blamed for their illness. This is particularly true for cancers associated with smoking, like lung cancer, where fear of provider judgment may lead to dangerous delays in diagnosis.
Stigma also follows many survivors into the workplace. According to the study, cancer stigma is linked to job loss and discrimination, adding financial strain to an already overwhelming experience.
The Stigma Often Associated With Lung Cancer
The stigma attached to lung cancer has been around since the 1970s. This stigma stereotypes people with lung cancer as being reckless and that they are “getting what they deserve.”
This is because when people hear the word “lung,” they associate it with smoking without considering there are other reasons for developing cancer.
We’ve all heard it before. “Oh, you’ve got lung cancer. Well, you’re a smoker. What’d you expect?” or “Why do we need to talk about lung cancer? People are tired of it.” For one thing, the lung cancer stigma hasn’t gone away. Many studies show that most people with lung cancer experience stigma from people in their surrounding environment or inflict self-stigma on themselves.
Does Lung Cancer Attract Greater Stigma Than Other Cancer Types?
Unfortunately, yes. If you ask lung cancer patients, most of them will tell you how they’ve suffered from increasing social stigma and shame from people around them. Instead of showering them with love and support, people unknowingly inflict guilt and shame.
It’s also important to note that lung cancer can be caused by other factors apart from smoking. Even though 80-90% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking, other risk factors linked to the disease include:
- Asbestos exposure
- Radon gas exposure
- Air pollution
- Long family history of lung cancer
- Genetic mutation
- Drinking arsenic in water
- Cancer survivors who undergo radiation therapy to the lungs
- Some supplements, like beta-carotene, have been linked to lung cancer
It’s important to note that smoking is an addiction. Some people can find it extremely hard to quit smoking.
Lung cancer patients may also develop the disease as a result of secondhand smoke or from other risk factors.
Awareness campaigns are double-edged swords. The goal of any awareness campaign is to educate people about the dangerous risk factors that can cause disease. Since most lung cancer awareness campaigns warn against the dangers of smoking, people now think that it’s the only risk factor and forget that some people may get lung cancer without actually smoking.
Not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer. There’s no debate that smoking is bad, but there’s always the notion that some people do smoke and don’t get lung cancer. Therefore, you shouldn’t be quick to judge the cause of the disease when it might be something entirely different.
Quitting smoking is also stigmatized. Lung cancer is a complex disease that can take years to develop. While some people kick the habit of smoking, they can still develop lung cancer later on. People might forget the efforts of quitting on this person’s part and start judging. It’s very important to celebrate achievements, whatever the outcome may be.
Other Diseases Linked to Smoking
While it’s important to stop the stigma surrounding lung cancer, it’s also important to be realistic about the harm that smoking can do. It isn’t just a risk factor for lung cancer. Many people don’t know this, but smoking doesn’t just increase your chances of developing lung cancer.
It can be a risk factor in several other types of cancers, like kidney, liver, throat, mouth, larynx, pancreatic, colon, rectum, cervical cancers, and leukemias as well.
How Does the Stigma Affect Patients?
A study published in Annals of Behavioural Medicine confirmed that patients were extremely uncomfortable with sharing their lung cancer diagnosis with other people, which is very disappointing.
“The stigma for lung cancer is a big concern for patients and for family members and friends who are involved with care for the disease,” Dr. David Tom Cooke, MD, FACS, head of general thoracic surgery at UC Davis Health, in Sacramento, California, tells SurvivorNet.
Whether we want to believe it or not, the outcome of stigma for lung cancer patients is awful. Society turns its back on cancer patients at the time they need it the most. This can result in terrible outcomes when it comes to patients’ recovery and mental health.
One of the outcomes of lung cancer stigma is that people can get so afraid of getting a lung cancer diagnosis that they might put off checking on their early-onset symptoms to avoid being stigmatized. This avoidance of consulting the doctor can lead to no treatment, which in turn means the progression of the disease to the advanced stage, where the options are very limited.
Another outcome can be reduced mental health as a result of the lack of support, shame, and loneliness, which can incredibly affect the emotional and physical well-being of the patient. A study published in Cancer Reports revealed that lung cancer patients were severely stigmatized, leading to significant levels of depression and decreased quality of life.
Additionally, patients can start blaming themselves and believing what people are saying that they deserve what they got. Patients can also feel rejected and alone and start practicing self-stigmatization, which can eventually lead to withdrawal, guilt, anxiety, depression, and treatment refusal.
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How a Lung Cancer Survivor Who Never Smoked Navigated Stigmas
Many lung cancer survivors have previously spoken to SurvivorNet about the lung cancer stigma. Amanda Kouri, 28 years old, was diagnosed with lung cancer five years ago.
WATCH: Lung Cancer Survivor Amanda Kouri Advocates For New Detection Methods
Amanda had asthma, so when she was having issues with breathing, doctors assumed, because of her age, that the asthma was the cause. “I saw many, many doctors. I had many X-rays, and nobody thought to give me a CT scan or take a look further because they assumed I either had pneumonia or I had asthma.” She had never smoked, and that was part of the reason doctors didn’t consider lung cancer to start with.
“The reason why lung cancer is so deadly is that it’s caught so late because we assume that everyone smokes or we assume that it only happens to 65-year-old people,” Amanda says, “when it’s a terrible disease that can take anyone at any age, any gender, any race … and we’re not looking for it.” And that stigma is part of the reason that such a difficult cancer receives less funding than other types of cancer.
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