Stigma, shame, and blame experienced by patients with lung cancer: qualitative study

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. 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 very 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.

Competing interests:
None declared