| Abstract: | This research project aims to examine the idea of stigma attached to cervical
cancer in light of its association with HPV, a sexually transmitted infection (STI). The
public recognition of this relationship appears to be increasing due to the current media
attention surrounding HPV’s causative role in the development of cervical cancer, and
the newly-released HPV vaccine. Thus, this study explores the experiences and
perceptions of cervical cancer patients and survivors living with this type of cancer at a
moment in time when it is becoming a very visible manifestation of a sexually
transmitted infection, versus one identified historically as a life-threatening cancer.
Disease-related stigma has vast individual, community, and societal
repercussions: in the context of both cancer and sexually transmitted infections, it is
broadly associated in the literature with decreased levels of screening, reluctance to seek
treatment, decreased access to social support, economic discrimination, and major
difficulties in implementing large-scale prevention efforts, such as contact tracing or
name-based reporting. This study is premised on the belief that including the voices of
patients and survivors themselves will provide a more holistic and complete
understanding of the dimensions of cervical cancer-related stigma, which in turn will help to inform future educational and prevention messages tailored to reduce its impact.
Additionally, it will illuminate the complexities and dynamics of how patients/survivors
are able or unable to access social support—a first step in designing more effective and
relevant support programs. |