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Cancer-related discrimination arises from long-lasting cultural and institutional misconceptions, with significant impacts on every part of a person's quality of life and health—and Flinders University researchers say it requires coordinated policy, legal, institutional and public education responses for change to occur.

"Cancer can affect much more than a person's physical health. Our research shows that a cancer diagnosis can also change how people are treated at work, when looking for a job, accessing insurance or financial support, and even within their own social networks," says lead author Dr. Andi Agbejule, a radiation therapist and cancer care researcher with Flinders University's College of Health and Enablement.

"Surviving cancer should not mean having to fight a second battle against stigma, outdated assumptions and unfair treatment."

Researchers examined more than 100 studies on cancer-related discrimination—which is defined as direct and recurring experiences of enacted stigma, behaviors or unfair treatment based on an individual's cancer history, current cancer diagnosis, perceived cancer risk or cancer caregiving role.

The research, "From Mechanisms to Manifestations: A Scoping Review Exploring Cancer-Related Discrimination," has been published in Psycho-Oncology journal.

Discrimination stemmed from misconceptions that cancer is contagious, employer concerns about productivity and costs attached to a person with cancer, rigid financial and welfare regulations, along with reduced empathy from the public, and even clinicians, toward cancers perceived as being 'self-inflicted' (such as smokers being diagnosed with cancer).

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