There are many people who don’t like saying the C-word.
They find it offensive and vulgar.
This isn’t surprising, it is a powerful word dripping with trauma, emotion and ignorance.
In some cultures, religions and communities, using the C-word is frowned upon because it is associated with stigma, blame, guilt, shame, fear and death so it becomes a taboo subject. Some are encouraged to keep their cancer ‘a secret’, not tell anyone and hide their symptoms. It is not even described as cancer but ‘a problem’ and some feel like they are letting their family down.
Shahid et al (2019) interviewed Indigenous people from various geographical areas in Western Australia about their beliefs and attitudes towards cancer. They found many Indigenous people believed cancer was contagious, and attributed cancer to spiritual curses, bad spirits or as punishment from a past misdeed.
In some cultures there is no word for cancer and where the word does exist, people still have a ‘roundabout way‘ of talking about the disease. Some just refer to it as the ‘Big C’.
Talking openly about cancer without the stigma is key. As Razis (2019) comments, speaking about cancer “dissolves the taboo and allows for earlier diagnosis, less discrimination, increased awareness,” and so helps to eradicate myths, legends, outdated or negative language. Communication is the cornerstone of good multidisciplinary medical care.
Being on the receiving end of a cancer diagnosis is as frightening as it gets because you have to face your own mortality. One of the problems is that we automatically equate cancer with inevitable death rather than focus on the high survival rates for many cancers.
We imagine the worst case scenario but cancer is not synonymous with death. People survive, often for a very long time and that’s largely down to ground-breaking and innovative treatments.
The way we talk about cancer matters because language influences action and talking more openly and positively saves lives.
That is why I think we can focus our efforts on other C-words when talking about cancer, and talk we must.
Courage is a C-word that I’m more than happy to use. It is ballsy and defiant and can help us navigate and confront complicated conversations. But courage isn’t about being a warrior, it’s about having the nerve to talk, listen and understand. Courageous conversations require plenty of care, comfort, control and confidence.
Compassion is another C-word that we must use, not to feel sorry for each other but to trigger positive processes, reduce stress and to share kindness and reciprocity. The role of self-compassion is particularly important as it can help protect against the toxic consequences of self-judgment, isolation, and introspection.
Another C-word we might use is citizenship. This is living well with an illness by actively accepting the situation you find yourself in, being positive and pro-active and leading a meaningful and full life by being mentally alive, being physically active and carving out relevancy.
There are plenty of positively loaded C-words that we can use when talking about cancer and we shouldn’t be afraid to use them!