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The case particularly addresses the catastrophic impact of the \u2018cancer-related social taboos\u2019 on various dimensions of cancer care ranging from primary and secondary prevention to definitive management. The financial issues in low-income to medium-income groups as potential deterrents to optimum treatment have also been highlighted. Approach to the common challenges faced by an oncologist practising in a society plagued by misconceptions about health and disease and potential remedial measures to debunk these myths have also been discussed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2020-236095","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,12]],"date-time":"2021-01-12T18:17:19Z","timestamp":1610475439000},"page":"e236095","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Social taboos: a formidable challenge in cancer care"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Pallvi","family":"Kaul","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rahul","family":"Kumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mahendra Pal","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9760-5484","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pankaj Kumar","family":"Garg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025082711474530000_14.1.e236095.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.4103\/ijcm.IJCM_183_19","article-title":"Equity and quality of health-care access: where do we stand and the way forward?","volume":"45","author":"Banerjee","year":"2020","journal-title":"Indian J Community Med"},{"key":"2025082711474530000_14.1.e236095.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102","DOI":"10.4103\/0019-509X.175602","article-title":"Delay in presentation to the hospital and factors affecting it in breast cancer patients attending tertiary care center in central India","volume":"52","author":"Thakur","year":"2015","journal-title":"Indian J Cancer"},{"key":"2025082711474530000_14.1.e236095.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1111\/jgh.12224","article-title":"Education and imaging. gastrointestinal: advanced untreated anal canal squamous cell carcinoma","volume":"28","author":"Garg","year":"2013","journal-title":"J Gastroenterol Hepatol"},{"key":"2025082711474530000_14.1.e236095.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1634\/theoncologist.2014-0346"},{"key":"2025082711474530000_14.1.e236095.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1634\/theoncologist.2014-0263"},{"key":"2025082711474530000_14.1.e236095.6","first-page":"483","article-title":"Neurofibromatosis type I (von Recklinghausen's disease): a family case report and literature review","volume":"9","author":"Ghalayani","year":"2012","journal-title":"Dent Res J"},{"key":"2025082711474530000_14.1.e236095.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-017-15183-1","article-title":"The genomic landscape of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors: diverse drivers of Ras pathway activation","volume":"7","author":"Brohl","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"2025082711474530000_14.1.e236095.8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.4103\/ijc.IJC_458_19","article-title":"Mainstreaming genetic counseling for BRCA testing into oncology clinics - 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