“Fighting cancer”, “winning the battle”, “losing the war”: phrases like these are so common that we hardly notice them. A campaign by the Spanish Group of Cancer Patients (GEPAC) asks whether this language helps — or whether it places an unfair burden on people with the disease.
The problem with battle language
Describing cancer as a fight suggests that the outcome depends on the patient’s strength or attitude. In reality, how the disease develops depends on its biology, on treatment and on many factors beyond anyone’s control.
Patient groups and psycho-oncologists point out that war metaphors can:
- make people feel they have failed if their illness progresses;
- create pressure to appear brave and positive at all times;
- discourage patients from talking openly about fear, sadness or side effects.
The campaign
Under the slogan “Cuidado con las palabras” (Be careful with words), GEPAC, with the support of the pharmaceutical company BeOne Medicines, is encouraging society to think about how we talk about cancer.
The campaign includes a tool that detects war-related terms such as “battle”, “combat” or “war” in posts on the social network X, and suggests alternatives such as “process” or “experience”.
The campaign website also offers:
- a glossary of alternative expressions;
- information sheets and videos produced with psycho-oncology specialists;
- guidance for health professionals, teachers, journalists and the public.
Not everyone agrees
Language around illness is personal. Some patients find strength in the idea of fighting, and campaigners stress that the aim is not to tell anyone how they should feel about their own illness, but to avoid imposing a single narrative on everyone. What matters, they argue, is listening to how each person describes their own experience.
Small changes
The campaign suggests simple steps: talking about “living with” cancer or “going through treatment”; avoiding obituaries that say someone “lost their battle”; and asking patients how they prefer to talk about their illness.
Words are not neutral. The way we talk about cancer can influence how patients feel and how comfortable they are asking for help. A more careful vocabulary is a small change that can make the experience a little less lonely.
