Stigma for lung cancer

ONE in 10 Australians believe people with lung cancer deserve what they get, and more than a third say these patients only have themselves to blame.

The confronting lack of empathy towards lung cancer patients has been revealed through a national survey commissioned by Lung Foundation Australia.

While smoking is the predominant cause of lung cancer, the stigma attached to the No.1 cancer killer is “entirely” undeserved, said Dr Emily Stone, a respiratory physician who runs a lung cancer clinic at St Vincent’s Hospital.

“Smoking causes many, many diseases but the only one that has stigma is lung cancer.”