Rosalind wonders why her friend recoils from the word cancer. Do you think there's a stigma around cancer today? If so, why do you think that is?

When Rosalind tells a friend she has cancer, she wonders why the woman recoils from the word. "It's not as if saying it aloud will make it contagious," she thinks.

Do you think there's a stigma around cancer today? Are people reluctant to discuss the disease even now, and if so, why do you think that is?

The word cancer is a word no one wants to hear pertaining to them or anyone they know in their lifetime. It usually is a doomsday word. I have lost several people I cared for with cancer. People don't want to hear the word cancer pertaining to anyone they know or don't know. It seems more people die from cancer than are cured.

I don't think cancer has a stigma any longer. There is too much out there about how to screen for it and everyone takes part in that. Everyone knows someone who has had cancer. I think it is still a scary diagnosis and people are afraid of the disease but not of any one that has it.

I think the real problem today is how to help someone cope. It is hard to ask the questions about prognosis. This questions are the first thing we tend to want to know when we hear the cancer diagnosis.

There is still a stigma about any serious disease particularly if the victim's behavior can be attributed to its cause. However, the sigma is much less than it was in the time of Rosalind when a cancer diagnosis was generally a death sentence. Fear and terror often lead to irrational opinions.

I agree, I do not believe cancer has the stigma it did, say 60+ years ago. I think it also depends on the individual discussing cancer; some are more comfortable than others. If you haven’t experienced being around someone with cancer (which was/is the diagnosis that one thinks about but never speaks of)it may make one freeze for a moment when they hear the word.

When I was young, living with a mother who spoke only Greek, the word cancer was not used. It was referred to as the “bad” disease. Thanks to researchers, there is now hope when one is diagnosed with cancer.

Elizabeth

People really did used to think cancer was contagious. And the treatments were horrendous and often disfiguring. While the treatments are still more than a little barbaric, I haven't gotten the feeling that anyone thinks the disease is contagious. Too many people have had it and survived; unless you're one of them, it's unlikely you can pick out the survivors if they don't tell you.

I'm not sure that there's a stigma around it anymore. I thought carolt's comment that people used to think it was contagious was very interesting. What I do think is still problematic is that people are uncomfortable with those who have a serious illness like cancer. Unless you're really close to the person it can be uncomfortable trying to figure out the right thing to say, and which questions are OK and which are offensive. That, in turn, could lead to some avoiding the ill individual.

I wasn't really aware that cancer had been so stigmatized in the past. I do not feel that it is like that anymore, I think most people understand the disease and have nothing but sympathy for anyone with a cancer diagnosis. That people thought it was contagious shows how important research and public education really is.

In my age group, over 70, people are still very afraid of the word cancer. Even though today many cancers have excellent treatments which can extend life and even cure people Thirty or forty years ago, if someone was diagnosed with any form of cancer they usually did not survive and many suffered a horrible, painful death. I have lost many friends and family to various cancers.

People want to be able to blame someone or something for an anomaly. Years ago, people would say that God gave you cancer for your evil ways. We have matured from that barbaric reasoning in most cases, but some people still find unrelated blame for the disease.

I don't think there is as much of a stigma around cancer as there was in Rosalind's time. People talk about it more openly today. But it is still a diagnosis that no one wants to hear.

Although in todays society the word "cancer"does not cause people to recoil, there is still a certain uneasiness of conversation. The "correct" words don't flow easily although the desire to support is great.

A diagnosis of cancer today does not have the stigma of certain death associated with it because there are many treatments available now that were not available 60 years ago. If you are having a conversation with someone who has received that diagnosis, you are more apt to discuss the treatment options she will undergo.

So much less was known about cancer back then that it probably was a scary thing to even think about…maybe even contagious. Cures for cancer are almost more prevalent than the actual disease today.

The cancer does not have the same stigma as it did years ago. However no one wants to hear they or a loved one has the disease.