Diagnosed with Breast Cancer: Stigmatized or Member of an Empowered Sisterhood?

Abstract

The role of genetics and lifestyle factors in breast cancer causation will be reviewed while acknowledging that in the majority of cases, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer has few, if any, of the known risk factors. We will see that breast cancer remains a highly feared, stigmatized disease that strikes without warning at any time during a woman's lifetime. This chapter will highlight powerful emotional tools that can be utilized to modify the stigma of breast cancer, including the importance of 'leaning in,' by actually embracing the vulnerability caused by a cancer diagnosis. We will learn that many women have emerged from the breast cancer experience feeling empowered, even happier. Thus the factors determining an individual patient's journey and the degree of associated stigma are complex and unique. We will find that the degree of stigma experienced depends on a balance of the patient's internal coping mechanisms, as well as social and familial support, and also critically on the biology of her cancer and the subsequent treatments required. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)