Cancer

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States. It is estimated that over 1.4 million U.S. men and women are diagnosed with cancer and over 550,000 die from it annually since 2000. According to the American Cancer Society, over 10.7 million Americans are currently living with or have survived cancer, and cancer survivorship continues to increase. While the term cancer describes a biomedical disease process— namely, the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells—it also conjures a set of social and culturally embedded meanings. Like all illnesses, cancer emerges within a larger social and cultural milieu, and its meanings are culture bound. A great deal has been written about the meanings and metaphors ascribed to cancer in Western culture, including ways cancer has been construed as a “gendered” illness. Throughout much of history, cancer was associated with women and the female body. While biomedical advances since the 19th century have challenged this association in the public imagination—overall, men are actually more likely to both develop and to die from cancer—gender continues to be an important lens through which cancer is understood and treated. We review how gender (among other cultural factors) shapes lay and professional understandings of cancer and, in turn, affects cancer risk and prevention, detection, treatment, and psychological adjustment among affected individuals.