Table 2.
Completion rates and agreement with each of the cancer stigma items for the weighted sample (N = 1918)a
| Completion rate N (%) |
Agree N (%) |
M (SD)b | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severity | 3.08 (1.07) | ||
| Having cancer usually ruins a person’s career | 1826 (95.2) | 825 (45.2) | |
| Getting cancer means having to mentally prepare oneself for death | 1832 (95.5) | 937 (51.1) | |
| Cancer usually ruins close personal relationships | 1830 (95.4) | 547 (29.9) | |
| Financial discrimination | 2.31 (1.03) | ||
| It is acceptable for banks to refuse to make loans to people with cancer | 1829 (95.4) | 316 (17.3) | |
| Banks should be allowed to refuse mortgage applications for cancer-related reasons | 1826 (95.2) | 285 (15.6) | |
| It is acceptable for insurance companies to reconsider a policy if someone has cancer | 1827 (95.3) | 567 (31.0) | |
| Policy opposition | 2.10 (1.05) | ||
| More government funding should be spent on the care and treatment of those with cancer (R) | 1824 (95.1) | 1552 (85.1) | |
| The needs of people with cancer should be given top priority (R) | 1816 (94.7) | 1500 (82.6) | |
| We have a responsibility to provide the best possible care for people with cancer (R) | 1832 (95.5) | 1641 (89.6) | |
| Awkwardness | 1.85 (0.95) | ||
| I would feel comfortable around someone with cancer (R) | 1829 (95.4) | 1526 (83.4) | |
| I would find it difficult being around someone with cancer | 1824 (95.1) | 174 (9.5) | |
| I would find it hard to talk to someone with cancer | 1826 (95.2) | 204 (11.2) | |
| Personal responsibility | 1.81 (0.90) | ||
| A person with cancer is liable for their condition | 1819 (94.8) | 193 (10.6) | |
| If a person has cancer it’s probably their fault | 1828 (95.3) | 139 (7.6) | |
| A person with cancer is to blame for their condition | 1824 (95.1) | 160 (8.8) | |
| Avoidance | 1.40 (0.72) | ||
| I would feel angered by someone with cancer | 1826 (95.2) | 83 (4.5) | |
| I would try to avoid a person with cancer | 1831 (95.5) | 79 (4.3) | |
| If a colleague had cancer I would try to avoid them | 1826 (95.2) | 67 (3.7) | |
a(R) denotes items that were reverse coded for calculation of the mean scores
bM mean, SD standard deviation