Objective: To examine the personal experiences of people with lung cancer and their caregivers and how stigma is manifested throughout a patient's social network. Methods: A qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with 28 patients with lung cancer and their caregivers was conducted. Telephone interviews were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was guided by contemporary stigma theory. Results: Patients and caregivers reported feeling high levels of felt stigma and concomitant psychological distress in response to the diagnosis of lung cancer. Three overarching themes emerged: the nexus of lung cancer and smoking, moralization, and attacking the link between lung cancer and smoking. Stigma was inevitably linked to smoking, and this formed the hub around which the other themes were organized. Caregivers reported feeling invisible and noted a lack of support systems for families and caregivers. In addition, there was evidence that caregivers experienced stigma by association as members of the patients' close networks. Both groups responded ambivalently to stigmatizing antismoking advertisements. Conclusions: The qualitative analysis demonstrated the complex interplay of the social and personal domains in the experience and outcomes of stigma in lung cancer. There is a significant potential for caregivers of patients with lung cancer to experience exacerbations of psychosocial distress as a consequence of widely shared negative views about lung cancer and its prognosis. It remains for researchers and practitioners to incorporate such complexity in addressing stigma and psychosocial distress in both patients and caregivers.

中文翻译：

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社交网络中的肺癌耻辱：患者和护理人员的观点

目的：检查肺癌患者及其护理人员的个人经历，以及患者的社交网络中如何体现污名。方法：对 28 名肺癌患者及其照顾者的访谈进行了定性主题分析。进行了电话采访并逐字转录。数据分析以当代污名理论为指导。结果：患者和护理人员报告说，他们对肺癌的诊断感到高度的耻辱感和伴随的心理困扰。出现了三个总体主题：肺癌与吸烟的关系、道德化以及攻击肺癌与吸烟之间的联系。污名不可避免地与吸烟有关，这构成了其他主题组织的中心。护理人员报告说感觉自己被忽视，并指出缺乏对家庭和护理人员的支持系统。此外，有证据表明，护理人员作为患者亲密网络的成员，会因关联而受到耻辱。两组都对污名化的禁烟广告做出了矛盾的反应。结论：定性分析证明了社会和个人领域在肺癌病耻感的经历和结果中的复杂相互作用。由于对肺癌及其预后的普遍负面看法，肺癌患者的护理人员很可能会经历心理社会压力的加剧。研究人员和从业者仍然需要将这种复杂性纳入解决患者和护理人员的耻辱感和社会心理困扰。