Language can empower people to participate actively in their health care, or it can create barriers.
Effective communication is key to raising awareness of the disease and providing appropriate care to patients.
However, in many African settings this aspect of care is often overlooked.
Let’s take cancer as an example. It is very important to understand how cancer is discussed in different languages and cultural contexts. Better communication about the disease can reduce fear and stigma, improve patient outcomes, and facilitate more informed decision-making.
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The burden of cancer in Africa is increasing faster than anywhere else in the world. In a region where approximately 2,000 languages are spoken, how cancer is communicated is important.
I’m an epidemiologist and global health researcher, and I recently co-authored a paper on how cancer terms are expressed in African languages.
This finding suggests that translations of key terms such as “cancer,” “malignant,” “chronic,” and “radiotherapy” commonly convey an element of fear or tragedy. And the language used can contribute to fear, health disparities, and barriers to care, and can create communication challenges for health professionals.
These results support the need for culturally sensitive cancer terminology. This will improve cancer awareness and communication.
For cancer patients, the language used to describe diagnosis and treatment can influence their perception of their condition, willingness to seek treatment, and interactions with health care providers.
Research on cancer terminology
Our study investigated the translation of cancer-related terms from different African languages and investigated their cultural significance. We surveyed 107 health professionals, community health workers, and researchers representing 44 languages from 32 African countries.
Participants were asked to translate 16 common medical terms into their local language and explain the meaning of those terms. These were terms such as “cancer,” “radiotherapy,” “metastasis,” and “survival.”
The results revealed a diversity of terminology and translations. Many local terms contained linguistic references that reflected cultural and social backgrounds.
fear and prejudice
The results revealed a striking pattern: many cancer-related terms have very negative connotations. Often they were associated with fear, tragedy, and incurable diseases. Some translations had malicious spiritual meanings.
The word “cancer” is often associated with weight. It creates a feeling of being overwhelming, invincible, and often final.
Terms such as “malignant” and “chronic” carry similar weight and are often accompanied by notions of hopelessness and lethality.
Cancer in different African languages.
What if the treatment meant to save your life turns out to be as terrifying as the disease itself?
One example of our work was the translation of “radiotherapy.” In some languages, the term was associated with combustion, that is, being scorched by fire, heat, or electricity.
These associations can make treatment seem more frightening than it actually is. They can deter patients from seeking the care they need.
Bring out rich expressive power
One interesting example of how language shapes understandings of cancer came from participants in Uganda. Their translation of “transference” (meaning “spreading”) in Luganda was “ekiziva kasindika obwana bwayo ahale.” This means that “the population sent the seedlings to another location.”
This vivid metaphor, deeply ingrained in local idioms and proverbs, compares the spread of cancer to the dispersal of seedlings from a central plant.
It shows how African languages can convey complex medical concepts through culturally resonant expressions.
In other instances, cancer was called “the wound in which we bury” (translated from Wolof), “forest disease” (translated from Djerma), and “parasitic plant” (translated from Shona).
These expressions go beyond literal translation and provide valuable insight into how cultures think about cancer as a powerful and pervasive force in nature.
What’s next?
This study highlights the importance of cultural sensitivity in cancer communication.
When the language used to describe cancer and its treatments instills fear and perpetuates stigma, it becomes more difficult for healthcare professionals to provide effective care.
Patients may delay receiving treatment, have difficulty understanding their condition, and feel hopeless about their prognosis.
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Efforts to overcome stigmatizing language taken early in the HIV epidemic in Africa may serve as a blueprint for improving cancer communication.
Initiatives like the Stop TB Partnership’s TB Language Guide provide lessons on using non-stigmatizing terminology that can also be applied to oncology.
Programs such as the American Cancer Society’s Patient Education Initiative and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Light of Hope Radiotherapy Program highlight the potential for positive alternative languages and effective translation in cancer care in Africa.
The language used to communicate about cancer is also important. Because it can impact health disparities.
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Linguists, health professionals, and cultural leaders should work together to create new terms or adapt existing terms to be more neutral or positive.
Such efforts could pave the way for more compassionate, effective, and culturally harmonious medical communication across the continent.
