Confronting nihilism and stigma in lung cancer: The nurse practitioner's role in restoring hope and trust
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States, yet profound advances in screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship have redefined what is possible for patients. Despite this progress, nihilism, fatalism, and stigma continue to shape public and professional perceptions, discouraging screening and delaying help-seeking. Nurse practitioners occupy a central and trusted position across the lung cancer continuum and are uniquely equipped to counter these barriers through compassionate, stigma-informed communication. This perspective article synthesizes current evidence to illuminate how nurse practitioners can translate empathy, equity, and behavioral science into tangible practice actions that reduce stigma and nihilism and instill compassion and hope. Key strengths-language, empathy, tobacco treatment integration, social context awareness, community engagement, and hope-form the "Permission to Hope" framework. By leveraging these strengths, nurse practitioners can transform everyday interactions into opportunities to rebuild trust, improve screening participation, and redefine what survivorship means in lung cancer care.
Authors
- Elyse Richelle Park
- Abbie Begnaud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5634-1638)
- L. Kearney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5661-8692)
- Deborah P. Brown
- Erica T. Warner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2671-0313)
- Anne Stangl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9325-5077)
- Lauren Rosenthal
- Timothy J. Williamson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3678-0657)
- Eugene Manley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5717-726X)
- James Pantelas
- Douglas E. Wood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1396-7005)
- Dannell Boatman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0219-0322)
- Maureen Rigney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3370-4093)
- Drew Moghanaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5129-2184)
- Dusty Donaldson
- E. Kazerooni
- Jamie L. Studts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3922-3597)
- J. Ostroff
- Elizabeth Scharnetzki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5727-0189)
- Smith Ra
- Lisa Carter-Bawa
- Heidi A. Hamann
- Nancy Alvey
- Deena Cook
- Jill Feldman
- Joan Shiller
Institutions
- High Point University (US)
- Boston University (US)
- West Virginia University (US)
- American Cancer Society (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Advocates for Youth (US)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US)
- University of Arizona (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Georgetown University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Georgetown University Medical Center (US)
- American Lung Association (US)
- VA Boston Healthcare System (US)
- Loyola Marymount University (US)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- VA New England Healthcare System (US)
- MaineHealth (US)
- Michigan Medicine (US)
- Go2 for Lung Cancer (US)
- Ann Arbor VA Medical Center (US)
- Bridgepoint (United States) (US)
- University of Colorado Cancer Center (US)
- Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic (US)
- Resurrection University (US)
- Center for Discovery (US)
- University of Colorado Denver (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners
- Published
- 2025-12-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1097/jxx.0000000000001230
- Primary Topic
- Cancer survivorship and care
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00