‘Lung cancer? He Must be a Smoker.’ An Exploration into the Stigmatisation of Lung Cancer Patients

Abstract

This paper will focus on lung cancer patients as a marginalised group whose voice is frequently under-represented or misrepresented in marketing communication efforts. By focusing on public health and charity anti-smoking and lung cancer campaigns this paper argues that marketing communication is contributing to the voicelessness of existing lung cancer patients by constructing meaning, which reinforces and encourages social stigma, affecting their ability to obtain and utilise social capital. Societies have a limited carrying capacity for the amount of social problems such as cancer they can address at one time and this also applies to individuals. As a result potential stigmatisers find it difficult to generate compassion for lung cancer patients who they are led to believe are responsible for their own condition, especially when they are faced with many other cancers which receive more public and media attention such as breast and prostate. In this paper I consider the consequences of public heath campaigns for the current sufferers of lung cancer. They generate stigma, lack of status and a sense of having little value being attached to their voice. The subsequent loss of status and discrimination leads to unequal outcomes and a lack of social capital. Without access to these networks and a common objective with those with power lung cancer patients do not have the opportunity, motivation or ability to overcome their voicelessness. The paper finishes by outlining some reflective communication measures that might help address this situation,