Cancer & Body Image
Although illnesses may have detrimental effects on one’s physical health, there are also heavy tolls an illness may take on a patient’s mental health. Specifically, when faced with cancer, patients’ bodies may change aggressively, and they are left to cope with how these changes affect their own body images. In the podcast episode titled “Body Image” of The Cancer Patient Podcast, cancer survivors Carlo, Wendy, and Layla discuss the way that cancer negatively affects body image and the trauma that affects such as hair loss can have on patients. They also encourage listeners with the hope that their negative emotions will lighten over time as they adjust to their new lives after surviving cancer. By discussing their own experiences with cancer and by listening to stories from other cancer patients, they establish ethos, pathos, and an empathetic tone. They effectively prove that validating the critical effects cancer takes on self image and putting a spotlight on this often overlooked topic is the most beneficial way to help patients heal. I agree with their stance because making patients feel heard provides them with emotional support even when they cannot be supported physically.
Carlo, Wendy, and Layla utilize ethos in their podcast to prove that they are credible speakers on the effects cancer may have on body image. They establish this ethos within the first minute of the podcast by mentioning that they themselves are cancer survivors: “A podcast made by cancer patients, for cancer patients” (0:53-0:55). Recognizing that they are cancer patients makes their message more effective because it shows that they have experience with cancer negatively affecting their own body images and self esteems. This is especially effective considering that their target audience is other cancer patients. Cancer patients listening to this podcast episode would realize that these people have experienced similar emotions to the ones they are experiencing right now, and that they can trust the speakers. They also show their firsthand knowledge by using words such as “us” and “we” when speaking about side effects of cancer treatments. Carlo states, “Like most of us who went through hair loss” (28:18-28:20). By using the word “us” instead of “you”, Carlo affirms for listeners that he has been through the effects of cancer and that those who have/had cancer are a community. This community is brought together to fight the common enemy of cancer. Having a common enemy makes the audience more likely to trust the speakers because it rallies everyone behind one cause and reveals the similarities that they share with the speakers. Another way that the The Cancer Patient Podcast hosts establish ethos is by listening to multiple voicemails throughout the podcast from listeners (cancer patients) telling their own stories about cancer and body image. Listening to other cancer survivors’ stories sends listeners the message that the hosts acknowledge other stories and relate to them. Making audience members feel heard establishes trust between the audience and the speakers makes them more likely to absorb their message — that it is understandable for cancer to negatively affect body image and that cancer patients need to be patient with themselves. Hence, by establishing ethos throughout their podcast episode “Body Images”, hosts Carlo, Wendy, and Layla make themselves known as trustworthy speakers, making cancer patients listening more likely to heed their message.
The podcast hosts of this episode of The Cancer Patient Podcast also appeal to their audience by using pathos, and invoking listeners’ emotions such as humor and hope. They utilize humor when speaking about scoping out venues in advance to make sure that they would feel comfortable there. Carlo references a viral tweet, joking, “Do you look at the menu before you go to a restaurant or are you normal?… If you have a disabled friend who needs a wheelchair-accessible restaurant or bar… google it” (41:10-41:35). By comically comparing googling a restaurant’s menu to googling if it’s wheelchair accessible or not, Carlo emphasizes that it can be incredibly easy to make amputee friends feel comfortable and included when going out. He also points out that choosing places where friends are not included may only make amputees feel more like outsiders than they probably already do. Carlo, Wendy, and Layla also attempt to instill a sense of hope in listeners by listening to voicemail messages from survivors who have learned over time to cope with the changes that cancer may take on your body. A cancer patient who has to wear a colostomy bag reflects, “I wore the bikini proudly because I was surrounded by other people just like me” (12:23-12:27). Exposing listeners to scenarios where things actually improve for a fellow cancer survivor would make them feel hopeful about their own situations, and may convince them that, with time, they’ll learn to adapt to their new situations and make the best of it. Also, when the caller says she “was surrounded by other people just like me”, she is referring to a group of fellow cancer survivors that she goes on vacation with who encourage her to embrace her body. This may also inspire listeners to find people who understand what they are going through and who will acknowledge their experiences rather than pretending to understand. Carlo, Wendy, and Layla’s effective uses of pathos throughout their podcast convince listeners that their experiences are being acknowledged and that their situations may one day improve.
By also using an empathetic tone throughout the entirety of their podcast, the hosts make listeners feel heard and validated for feeling negatively about their situations. Carlo, Wendy, and Layla demonstrate to listeners that they’ve been where they are right now and that it’s understandable for them to be viewing their bodies in a negative light. When responding to a voicemail left by a listener, Layla points out to the caller that she shouldn’t be so hard on herself, because her desires to feel pretty are valid: “I know she was kind of a little hard on herself, for like- wanting to be pretty and wanting to wear makeup, but that’s totally valid” (17:03-17:13). She uses an empathetic tone by telling the caller she is too hard on herself and pointing out that she should embrace the way she feels. Layla acknowledges that it’s okay to want to feel pretty to recognize the negative effects cancer takes on body image for all listeners. Wendy uses a similar tone later in the podcast when she states, “She didn’t feel like she could shave her head which is a very, very natural reaction because it’s hair but it’s a hard thing to let go of” (30:53-31:00). Again, the hosts validate patients’ feelings who are too hard on themselves. By being empathetic, they shine a spotlight on the issue of cancer and body image, which is often overlooked; this aligns with their purpose of wanting to acknowledge the negative effects cancer has on people’s body images. Additionally, by recognizing that people may respond to the voicemail saying things such as “it’s just hair”, Wendy recognizes the significance hair loss can have on patients’ mental healths, proving that listening to patients and empathizing with them is more effective than downplaying their feelings. Carlos, Wendy, and Layla using empathetic tones when they respond to voicemails that patients leave highlights the idea for listeners of being patient with themselves and taking time to validate their own emotions. It also propels the significance of listening to patients rather than always finding a response.
Thus, through appeals to ethos and pathos, as well as the utilization of empathetic tones, podcast hosts Carlo, Wendy, and Layla recognize the negative toll cancer takes on patients’ body images. They also encourage listeners to be patient with themselves and accept their own emotions to have a chance of adapting to their new lives with and after cancer. They target their niche audience of podcast listeners by establishing the credibility of them being cancer survivors themselves, putting them in a place to discuss the terrible effects cancer has on body image.
The episode “Body Image” of The Cancer Patient Podcast may be analyzed through a lens set in place by Arthur W. Frank in his famous novel The Wounded Storyteller. In The Wounded Storyteller, Frank categorizes patients’ illness narratives into three main themes: the restitution narrative, the chaos narrative, and the quest narrative. These themes differentiate in who or what the narrative revolves around and how the patient’s story ends. The podcast episode “Body Image” most closely aligns with the quest narrative Frank discusses because the story revolves around the patient’s and how they recognize their own emotions and learn from them. According to Frank, “Quest stories meet suffering head on; they accept illness and seek to use it” (115). Throughout Carlo, Wendy, and Layla’s podcast episode they discuss accepting the effects that cancer can take on people’s body images, and they use callers’ voicemails to demonstrate the lessons that can be taken away from the experience of having cancer.
The hosts acknowledge the toll cancer takes on body image at multiple points throughout the novel by being empathetic with patients and reminding them that their feelings are understandable: “I know she was kind of a little hard on herself, for like- wanting to be pretty and wanting to wear makeup, but that’s totally valid” (17:03-17:13). Here, Layla validates the caller’s emotions by informing her that she cannot be too difficult with herself; she must allow herself to have desires and emotions. She is encouraging her caller to face her feelings head on, as the quest narrative suggests patients must. The podcast hosts suggest that patients can “use” their illnesses by adapting to their new lives and making the most of their situations. Additionally, they will also learn the values of being patient with themselves. Carlo, Wendy, and Layla showcase how patients can learn to be happy with their new lives and bodies when playing the voicemail from the woman who wore a bikini years after having a permanent colostomy bag attached to her. She boasts, “I wore the bikini proudly because I was surrounded by other people just like me (12:23-12:27). With time and support, the woman who leaves the voicemail learns more about being happy with and proud of her body. She also describes the patience she gains from this experience because it takes her years to become comfortable enough with her body to wear a bikini in public. This paints the picture for listeners that there are lessons to be learned from the experience of having cancer, aligning with the principals of the quest narrative. Hence, the podcast episode “Body Image” reflects the themes of Frank’s quest narrative because it revolves around the idea of accepting one’s suffering and learning from it.
Frank’s quest narrative is also reflected in other media dealing with cancer and body image. In the interview “Reclaiming Her Life: A Cancer Survivor Faces Body Image Issues”, conducted by Lindsey Garner, interviewee Angela Gass learns how to accept what she has lost to cancer, and also look more at what she still has. Gass states, “‘I decided that I wasn’t going to let it (cancer) take anything else. Instead of focusing on the things that I had lost, I put my energy into all the things that I am: a wife, mother, woman and survivor’” (Garner). Gass uses her illness to approach life with a whole new mindset, one that makes her more optimistic and grateful for what she has. Her quest forces her to develop a mindset she can carry with her into the rest of her life. This is a similar scenario to the Youtube video posted by Macmillan Cancer Support, titled “Body image and cancer — Macmillan Cancer Support”. In this video, four cancer survivors share their stories about dealing with the physical effects cancer has had on each of them, and what they’ve learned from it. One woman featured in the video, named Heather, tells the audience about her mastectomy she received due to having breast cancer. She mentions the lack of control she feels in her life, especially over her own body. Then, she branches into when she begins exercising, and mentions the beneficial effects this has on her: “I felt fitter, more confident, I could see my muscle tone and that brought much more body confidence to me” (3:05-3:09). Heather uses her suffering and channels it into exercise, learning the value of physical activity for her self esteem. Her quest here is to overcome the body image issues she has after her mastectomy, and learn ways to add more control to her life. The quest narrative is one that is popular amongst many sources dealing with the issue of cancer and body image.
Several scholarly sources also analyze the topics of cancer and body image, and present the similar idea to the podcast episode “Body Image” that cancer can take extremely negative tolls on patients. One literature review study, conducted by Sheppard and Ely, analyzes the effects breast cancer takes on women’s sex drives. According to the article, “Sexuality encompasses one’s most intimate feelings of individuality and relates directly to our well-being and experience of ourselves as sexual beings” (Sheppard & Ely). A person’s sex drive is heavily impacted by the way one views themselves and their bodies. The study found that the amputation of a breast(s) may have long-lasting impacts on the amputee and their sexuality. One participant in the study “feels that she has never fully come to terms with the dramatic assault on her body caused by the mastectomy, and this undoubtedly affects her conception of her self as a sexual being” (Sheppard & Ely). Hence, research shows that many cancer patients feel more self-conscious and less confident than people of good health, proving that cancer has profound effects on body image and sexuality.
A cross-sectional study analyzing the survey responses of 531 cancer patients also acknowledges the effects cancer has on body image that are addressed in the podcast. Jan Brederecke, Anja Heise and Tanja Zimmermann, in the study “Body Image in Patients with Different Types of Cancer”, find that cancer patients do in fact “show diminished body image compared to the population” (Brederecke, et. al). This point matches what the podcast repeatedly explains through numerous voicemail messages from listeners. Interestingly, this study also brought up the idea that body image may be affected to different extents depending on the type of cancer a patient has: “Female cancer patients with breast/gynecological cancer reported better SA than those with visceral cancers” (Bredercke, et. al). This topic of different types of cancer is not mentioned in the podcast episode, but it is an interesting point to be considered. Another article that emphasizes this relationship is “Self-esteem, Metacognition, and Coping Strategies in Cancer Patients: A Case-Control Study”, by Habibe Inci, Fatih Inci, SüLeyman Ersoy, Fatih Karatas and Didem Adahan. In the study, it was found between two groups of 50 adult cancer patients that “the degree of sensitivity to criticism… [was] high” (Inci, et. al). This also aligns with the podcast episode “Body Image”, which emphasizes the heightened emotional sensitivity that comes with cancer. In one of the voicemails the hosts listen to, the caller states, “The tipping point for me was when I had a bunch of teenage girls stare at me in the mall… And it’s affected me a lot” (20:00-20:16). Cancer is difficult as it is, and it makes patients feel especially vulnerable. This caller is vulnerable because of the scar on her head, and being stared at in public has emotional effects on her. Hence, scholarly research articles build on the idea of cancer negatively impacting body image discussed in the podcast “Body Image”.
Thus, cancer patients are prone to experience negative impacts to their body images. These impacts are highlighted in the podcast episode “Body Image” of The Cancer Patient Podcast, hosted by cancer survivors Carlo, Wendy, and Layla. They effectively convey that listening to patients’ stories is one of the most profound ways of helping them cope with their emotions, especially for cancer patients who experience many traumatizing and unavoidable physical effects. Through uses of ethos, pathos, and an empathetic tone, the hosts validate the listener’s (cancer patients) negative emotions and reinforce the messages of being patient with yourself and that things can improve with time. In this way, “Body Image” analyzes the relationship between cancer and body image through the lens of a quest narrative, discussed in Arthur W. Frank’s The Wounded Storyteller. Patients are encouraged to embrace and acknowledge their negative emotions and to learn how to approach life in new ways. This quest narrative can also be seen in other media sources relating to this topic, and scholarly sources validify the negative relationship between cancer and body image.
Works Cited
Brederecke, Jan, et al. “Body image in patients with different types of cancer.” PLoS ONE, vol.
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“The Cancer Patient Podcast.” Spotify, hosts Carlo, Wendy, and Layla, 5 August 2021,
Garner, Lindsey. “Reclaiming Her Life: A Cancer Survivor Faces Body Image Issues.” MD
Anderson Cancer Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 24 May 2011, https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/reclaiming-her-life-a-cancer-survivor-faces-body-image-issues.h00-158671845.html.
Inci, Habibe, et al. “Self-esteem, metacognition, and coping strategies in cancer patients: A
case-control study.” Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics, vol. 17, no. 4, Oct.-Dec. 2021, p. 956. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A675881882/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=2748b619. Accessed 13 Dec. 2021.
Sheppard, Lorraine A., and Sally Ely. “Breast Cancer and Sexuality.” Wiley Online Library, John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 31 Jan. 2008, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1524-4741.2007.00550.x.
Support Group, Macmillan. “Body Image And Cancer – Macmillan Support Group.” YouTube, 4 June 2015, https://youtu.be/X2KbXDdBRgA
