Over 150,000 Americans died of lung cancer in 2001. The cancer can carry with it considerable stigma, and researchers at Oxford talked to patients about their experiences with the disease.

What the researchers wanted to know: How do lung cancer patients experience the stigma of the disease?

What they did: The researchers recruited 45 patients with lung cancer in the United Kingdom. They tried to make the group as diverse as possible, with men and women, young and old people, people from various social backgrounds, with different kinds of lung cancer, and different treatments. Most were recruited through support groups, but others were found through their doctors. Alison Chapple, the lead author and a medical sociologist, visited each patient at home and asked them to tell the entire story of their cancer, from when they first thought they were ill.

What they found: Many patients said people they knew would cross the road to avoid talking to them—they thought, because acquaintances wanted to avoid someone who could die an unpleasant death or were embarrassed or maybe just didn't know what to say. Some said families and friends hadn't kept in touch. Some said they thought people were more likely to think the patient was at fault or dirty because they'd smoked, even though lung cancer has other causes. Even some doctors assumed the patient had smoked. Some patients worried that they could be denied healthcare if they'd smoked.

What the study means to you: Stigma can make the experience of cancer worse for the patient.

Caveats: Most people in support groups have already talked about stigma in their groups, so it's possible that most lung cancer patients don't have as much experience of stigma. (Or maybe they're just more willing to talk about it.) The researchers weren't trying to get a sample to represent all lung cancer patients, so there's no reason to think this represents how most lung cancer patients feel.

Find out more: A strong opinion on lung cancer stigma, from a nurse at the University of California–San Francisco.

The Alliance for Lung Cancer Advocacy, Support, and Education offers a lung cancer hotline.

Read the article: Chapple, A., Ziebland, S., and A. McPherson. "Stigma, Shame, and Blame Experienced by Patients With Lung Cancer." British Medical Journal. June 19, 2004, Vol. 328, pp. 1470–1474.

Abstract online: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com