Abstract
The marriage rate of cancer survivors is lower than that of the general population and their siblings. This appears to be attributable to negative images and stigma in society regarding cancer and cancer survivors. In order to improve images and decrease stigma regarding cancer and cancer survivors, this study aimed to develop an educational program that primarily focuses on dating and marriage after cancer diagnosis. The education program was conducted for university students, and among 67 participants who attended the education program, 61 participants completed a self-report questionnaire both before and after the program. The questionnaire included measures to assess reluctance to date or marry a cancer survivor, attitudes toward marriage and having children, and level of empathy. Scores on most items assessing reluctance decreased after the program; however, only three items showed a significant decrease: reluctance to date a cancer survivor if cancer recurred or metastasized, and reluctance if one’s family objects to dating a cancer survivor. Both before and after the program, disease severity was the main cause for reluctance to date. In addition, empathetic concern was associated with reduced reluctance to date or marry a cancer survivor, while conservative attitudes toward marriage were associated with greater reluctance which was a result of familial concerns regarding such relationships. Some of the reluctance could be attributable to sociocultural values in Asia, where the choice of romantic partner is likely to be subject to familial influence.
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Data Availability
The datasets during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
This study was supported in part by the Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research in Japan.
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Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, analysis, and preparation of the first draft of the manuscript were performed by KY. YM contributed to interpretation of data and assisted in the preparation of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethics Approval
The study was conducted with an approval from the research ethics committee of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba (Approval No. Tokyo 30-62).
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The participants gave their consent by answering the questionnaire.
Research Involving Human Participants
The study was approved by the appropriate institutional review board and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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The participants gave their consent by answering the questionnaire.
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All statistical analyses were performed using BellCurve for Excel version 2.00.
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Yoshida, K., Matsui, Y. A Pilot Study for the Development and Evaluation of an Educational Program to Reduce Stigma Toward Cancer and Cancer Survivors: Focusing on Dating and Marriage After Cancer Diagnosis. J Canc Educ 37, 806–811 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01885-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01885-0