--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You've heard it all right. People don't…" description: "\"“You've heard it all right. People don't have cancer: They are reported to be battling cancer.”\" — Christopher Hitchens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/christopher-hitchens-117_cancer_you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-h_441040.jpg" --- # You've heard it all right. People don't have cancer: They… ![“You've heard it all right. People don't have cancer: They are reported to be battling cancer.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/christopher-hitchens-117_cancer_you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-h_441040.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/christopher-hitchens-117_cancer_you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-h_441040.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/christopher-hitchens-117_cancer_you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-h_441040.jpg) > ““You've heard it all right. People don't have cancer: They are reported to be battling cancer.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement critiques the tendency to label people as 'cancer patients' rather than acknowledging the disease, emphasizing language's impact on perception. **In simple terms:** Calling people 'cancer' reduces them to illness. Key Takeaway Use precise language about disease. Themes health communication stigma language cancer perception media Mood analytical concerned informative Type medical social When to use this quote - patient advocacy - media reporting - health education Key Concepts Medical sociology ethics of speech public health messaging Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape illness stigma? - What alternatives improve empathy? A Different Perspective Changing language alone may not change attitudes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Battling Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battling-cancer/) [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ## Related quotes > [I don't have cancer, I just have a tumour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-giertz/i-don-t-have-cancer-i-just-have-a-tumour/) [Simone Giertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-giertz/) > [I'm battling cancer. It's another battle I intend to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-m-battling-cancer-it-s-another-battle-i-intend-to-win/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [In terms of fitness and battling through cancer, exercise helps you stay strong physically and mentally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grete-waitz/in-terms-of-fitness-and-battling-through-cancer-exercise-helps-you/) [Grete Waitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grete-waitz/) > [We couldn't let anyone know about it at the time, but I wasn't all that healthy at times. I was battling cancer and had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-channing/we-couldn-t-let-anyone-know-about-it-at-the-time-but-i-wasn-t-all/) [Carol Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-channing/) > [We all live in this little bubble that we just expect to live forever and I think those of us that have been with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-strauss/we-all-live-in-this-little-bubble-that-we-just-expect-to-live-forever/) [Andrew Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-strauss/) > [“The secret to battling cancer, then, is to find means to prevent these mutations from occurring in susceptible cells, or to find means to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/the-secret-to-battling-cancer-then-is-to-find-means-to-prevent-these/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [Battling racism and battling heterosexism and battling apartheid share the same urgency inside me as battling cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/battling-racism-and-battling-heterosexism-and-battling-apartheid/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Stupid cancer... Some of us want a new house... A new car... A new mobile phone... To lose weight... But someone battling cancer wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stupid-cancer-some-of-us-want-a-new-house-a-new-car-a-new-mobile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The unwillingness to accept anything short of victory, that underlying fury, is the fundamental building block of my bottomless motivation to succeed. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/the-unwillingness-to-accept-anything-short-of-victory-that-underlying/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [PLEASE REPOST IN HONER OF THOSE WHO ARE BATTLING CANCER OR THOSE WHO HAVE LOST THE BATTLE...AND FOR THOSE WHO WON THE BATTLE!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilia/please-repost-in-honer-of-those-who-are-battling-cancer-or-those-who/) [Camilia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilia/) > [“The hours I spent in this anachronistic, bibliophile, Anglophile retreat were in surreal contrast to the shrieking horror show that was being enacted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-hours-i-spent-in-this-anachronistic-bibliophile-anglophile/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's been reported a lot that I've had two bouts of mononucleosis. The evidence suggests it wasn't two bouts, it was the same bout.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cavendish/it-s-been-reported-a-lot-that-i-ve-had-two-bouts-of-mononucleosis-the/) [Mark Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cavendish/) > [“Police not enforcing laws results in a high crime rate that is formally reported as a low crime rate in police statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/police-not-enforcing-laws-results-in-a-high-crime-rate-that-is/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Malaria is a disease that kills one to three million people a year. 300 to 500 million cases are reported. It's estimated that Africa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-novogratz/malaria-is-a-disease-that-kills-one-to-three-million-people-a-year/) [Jacqueline Novogratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-novogratz/) > [While not widely reported, our victories in Iraq are plentiful. National elections, a democratic parliament and the drafting of a constitution are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/while-not-widely-reported-our-victories-in-iraq-are-plentiful/) [Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Cancer quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [When people go get chemo, they're not injecting themselves with will - I have lost various loved ones to cancer, and I certainly don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/when-people-go-get-chemo-they-re-not-injecting-themselves-with-will-i/) [Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/) > [“the doctor hesitated before breaking the news to her. "those aren't stars. it's cancer." - forty years a smoker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/the-doctor-hesitated-before-breaking-the-news-to-her-those-aren-t/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [I would do away with super PACs. I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You've heard it all right. People don't have cancer: They are reported to be battling cancer.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-have-cancer-they-are-reported/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cancer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-have-cancer-they-are-reported/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/christopher-hitchens-117_cancer_you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-h_441040.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/christopher-hitchens-117_cancer_you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-h_441040.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/christopher-hitchens-117_cancer_you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-h_441040.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You've heard it all right. People don't have cancer: They are reported to be battling cancer.” — Christopher Hitchens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You've heard it all right. People...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-have-cancer-they-are-reported/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/you-ve-heard-it-all-right-people-don-t-have-cancer-they-are-reported/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```