We use so much militaristic language to describe cancer. It might be doing more harm than good
Fight cancer. Beat cancer. Stand up to cancer. Aggressive militant language pervades discourse on the illness. Yet it is questionable whether there is a health benefit in conceiving of cancer as a monolithic enemy. Not only has the military motif not led to a cure for the disease, but it may actually be detrimental to our health.
When people label cancer as an enemy, preventative behaviors that involve limitation and restraint – such as eating less red meat and not smoking – get disregarded or dismissed because fighting involves little self-control. We conceptualize war as a situation in which we have no choice but to engage a hostile force that must be attacked in order to be stopped. Self-limitation is not part of that equation.
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