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Cancer Stigma and its Health Consequences

  • Psycho-Oncology and Supportive Care (W WT Lam, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

People with cancer are stigmatized in many societies. Research investigating the causes and consequences of cancer stigma has grown rapidly; however, due to a lack of agreement among researchers as to how to conceptualize and examine cancer stigma, it is difficult to draw connections among the findings in the current cancer stigma literature. In this review, the authors developed one potential conceptual framework in an attempt to summarize/organize the existing findings. Common themes emerged at each stage of cancer stigma proposed in the framework: (1) six different dimensions of stigma that explain why patients with cancer are likely to be stigmatized, (2) negative stereotypes, prejudice toward, and discrimination against patients with cancer among the general populations, family or significant others, and health professionals, and (3) patients’ poor psychological well-being and negative health-related behaviors. The utilization of the framework in the future cancer stigma intervention research is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Prof. William F. Pirl (Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center), who made the authors’ collaboration possible.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

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Conflict of Interest

Daisuke Fujisawa and Nao Hagiwara declare they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropsychiatry and Palliative Care Center, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shunjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 160-8582

    Daisuke Fujisawa

  2. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin Street, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284-2018, USA

    Nao Hagiwara

Authors
  1. Daisuke Fujisawa
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  2. Nao Hagiwara
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Correspondence to Daisuke Fujisawa.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Psycho-Oncology and Supportive Care

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Fujisawa, D., Hagiwara, N. Cancer Stigma and its Health Consequences. Curr Breast Cancer Rep 7, 143–150 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12609-015-0185-0

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