Cultural beliefs and values in cancer patients

Abstract

In 2008, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released its World Cancer Report, which indicated that cancer accounts for approximately 12% of all-cause mortality worldwide. IARC estimated that globally 7.6 million peopled died from cancer and that 12.4 million new cases were diagnosed in 2008. The report went on to project that, due to increases in life expectancy, improvements in clinical diagnostics, and shifting trends in health behaviors (e.g. increases in smoking and sedentary lifestyles), in the absence of significant efforts to improve global cancer control, cancer mortality could increase to 12.9 million and cancer incidence to 20 million by the year 2030. Looking deeper into the data, it becomes clear that cancer-related stigma and myths about cancer are important problems that must be addressed, although different from a country to another. Stigmas about cancer present significant challenges to cancer control: stigma can have a silencing effect, whereby efforts to increase cancer awareness are negatively affected. The social, emotional, and financial devastation that all too often accompanies a diagnosis of cancer is, in large part, due to the cultural myths and taboos surrounding the disease. Combating stigma, myths, taboos, and overcoming silence will play important roles in changing this provisional trajectory. There are several reasons that cancer is stigmatized. Many people in our area perceived cancer to be a fatal disease. Cancer symptoms or body parts affected by the disease can cultivate stigma. Fears about treatment can also fuel stigma. There was evidence of myths associated with cancer, such as the belief that cancer is contagious, or cancer may be seen as a punishment. After reviewing these different examples of cultural myths and taboos met in cancer care, we can report these lessons learned: 1. Around the world, cancer continues to carry a significant amount of stigma, myths, and taboos; however, there are opportunities to capitalize upon shifting perceptions and positive change. 2. Awareness of cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and survival are on the rise; however, too many people still report that they feel uninformed when it comes to cancer. 3. Communication is critical to decreasing cancer-related stigma, raising cancer awareness, and disseminating cancer education. People with a personal history of cancer-especially well-known or celebrity survivors-and multiple mass media channels are key resources for dissemination. 4. The school system represents a potential venue for cancer education, and increasing cancer awareness among children may be an investment with high returns. 5. When facing cancer, people around the world want information and emotional support for themselves and their families. 6. Tobacco use and poor nutrition are widely acknowledged as cancer risks. Programs and policies that help people translate this awareness into action are needed. The global cancer community should capitalize upon positive shifts in attitudes about awareness of cancer and leverage these shifts to develop, and disseminate effective media campaigns and behavioral interventions to decrease the incidence of and morbidity and mortality associated with cancer. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved.