Unfortunately, “stigma” is something many people diagnosed with lung cancer experience. Lung cancer stigma is usually tied to smoking and may present in many ways. Oftentimes someone newly diagnosed with lung cancer will immediately be asked questions about their smoking history in a very judgmental way, made to feel ashamed about their diagnosis and/or others will make assumptions about treatment outcomes for lung cancer patients. At GO2 for Lung Cancer we know that if you have lungs, you are at risk for lung cancer, regardless of your smoking history. No one deserves lung cancer, and all patients deserve compassionate care.

In February’s Lung Cancer Living Room conversation with Dr. Smita C. Banerjee, PhD and Dr. Jamie S. Ostroff, PhD about stigma and empathetic communication, we discussed the origins and types of lung cancer stigma, how stigma can affect treatment decisions and outcomes and why words matter when communicating about, and to, lung cancer patients. Drs. Banerjee and Ostroff also shared information about their promising research study which provides training in empathetic and compassionate communication to health care providers with the aim of reducing lung cancer stigma.

Speakers: Smita C. Banerjee, PhD, Assistant Attending Behavioral Scientist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Jamie S. Ostroff, PhD, CTTS, NCTTP, Joseph Gaumont Chair of Cancer Prevention, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Andrew Ciupek, PhD, Associate Director, Clinical Research, GO2 for Lung Cancer

Mentioned in this episode:

  • GO2 for Lung Cancer partnered with Dr. Banerjee, Dr. Ostroff and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in developing a training for doctors in empathetic communication, including how to communicate with those living with lung cancer without using stigmatizing language.
  • This project has recently expanded to include 16 testing sites across the country and will evaluate the training’s impact on the communication and empathy skills of participating oncology providers.
  • Connecting with patient advocacy groups like GO2 for Lung Cancer can help to combat stigma by providing education, support and community to people at risk for, diagnosed and living with lung cancer.
  • Words matter! The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) created a language guide to best practices in all written and spoken language with the goal of moving health care professionals and the broader community and culture away from using stigmatizing language when speaking about people living with lung cancer.

Please join us for March’s Lung Cancer Living Room on March 21st at 5:30 pm PT for a conversation about the vital role people with lung cancer can play in advancing research with Joe Patterson, Manager, Public Affairs, Friends of Cancer Research; Jim Pantelas, lung cancer survivor and advocate; Judy Johnson, cancer survivor and advocate; and Elda Railey, Co-Founder, Research Advocacy Network. For more information on this and more, contact GO2’s HelpLine at 1-800-298-2436 or email support@go2.org.