Stigma, shame, and blame experienced by patients with lung cancer

Editor—I write with reference to the article by Chapple et al on the negative experiences of patients with lung cancer.¹ I remember a campaign many years ago encouraging doctors to record on a patient's death certificate that a smoking related death was due to smoking.² Several years ago my father was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was a non-smoker and not even a passive smoker.

In the months leading up to his death I became concerned that in years to come people seeing his death certificate in the archives would assume that he died because of smoking. This upset me.

After his death I asked the doctor providing the death certificate to state on the form that my father was a non-smoker. This was done. I had one hurdle left. I am pleased to say that the registrar of births and deaths accepted the death certificate as it was written along with the comment that my father was a non-smoker. This helped me greatly in the days after my father's death.

If doctors are to be encouraged to record on a death certificate that a patient was a smoker then I think it is only fair that the opposite can be appended as well.