Stigma In Nursing

The word “stigma” originated from the Greek language refers to the actions and gestures used to express something that is noticed as unusual and bad enough. The term stigma has been studied by Erving Goffman. According to Goffman (1963) stigma refers to an attribute that deeply discredits the possessor. Stigma has a great influence on the self esteem of the individual. The role and status of the individual from the common man’s normalcy change to a strange man. The perception of the society towards a stigmatized individual brings down the status and finally results in the form of discrimination towards them. . In social situation the individual stigmatized will often have to face certain unpleasant experience which later on leads to the isolation …show more content…
A book by Anniyan on the treating experience of Gangadharan mentions about tragic story of two families affected with cancer stigma perpetuated by the non patient population. Around 60% of the cancer patients are treated completely every year but the psychosocial problem the survivors face is really high. The suicides of cancer patients are at an alarming rate [TOM SAJAN, 2013]. .As per a report it is shocking to note that the state is ranked second on the ‘cancer-suicide’ list. Against the popular belief that financial constraints often drive cancer patients to suicides Gangadharan says that psychological trauma affects the patients the most, “There is a social stigma that affects cancer patients. Many victims take it as a matter of shame which affects them drastically. There are even people who refuse to marry cancer patients’ children. Cancer is not hereditary and the attitude towards the disease needs to change” (Gangadharan, 2012). Estimates for cancer awareness are being conducted in many places and the chances of considering cancer as a disease that cannot be cured and can be spread through contact with the patient is much high among the …show more content…
Isolation suffered by the cancer patients even after getting treated of the disease makes one to think about the amount of loneliness they must have felt while undergoing treatment. The social identity of the patients is always related to the lack of awareness about the treatability of cancer which is been considered as an incurable disease and can be soon spread by interacting with them. Article mentions about a campaign conducted by the Live Strong foundation which works for the cancer patients. The foundation conducted a study on the cancer stigma which found that considering cancer as infectious disease and hereditarily transmitted is high even in developed nations (Wagstaff, 2013). Stigma is just a single but major factor among the all psychosocial problems suffered by the cancer