The Croakey blog posts a column by Marian Pitts, Director of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at LaTrobe University. She writes:
“On an almost daily basis we are bombarded with health messages, many of them encouraging us to monitor ourselves for worrying signs that might be signals of an underlying problem.
Ovarian cancer is the latest in a long line of such concerns. It is the sixth most common cause of cancer death in Australia; and it has a poor five-year survival rate of only 42%. Many cases of ovarian cancer are undiagnosed until an advanced stage of the disease.
Against this backdrop, a National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre survey has shown that one in five women can’t name one symptom of ovarian cancer.
This has formed the basis of a public health campaign to raise awareness of the cancer and its associated symptoms.
The trouble is that the symptoms that may signal an underlying cancer are vague, non-specific and, as our study has found, extremely common in the general population.
…how can we deliver a message that does not just increase women’s anxiety, lead to unnecessary consultations and, in some cases, lead to unnecessary interventions and investigations?
We may be doing more harm than good to the general population, in our understandable desire to detect this so-called silent killer early enough to improve survival rates.”
Opinions on other issues in news, journals, PR, advertising, marketing
We’ve written about the hype of liquid biopsies for years (see link in comment below). And now this…. https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/12/medicare-shouldnt-cover-liquid-biopsies-early-cancer-detection/
Case counts still matter. “(There) are stories that may not be told adequately if only hospitalizations and deaths are emphasized.” @garyschwitzer interviewed by @dbauder of @AP. https://apnews.com/article/omicron-changing-news-outlets-covid-data-da9272f7c4c8a109c3bfb56bed9e9c76
My friend Gary @garyschwitzer wrote to his city council representative in a Minnesota town about a Viva Las Vegas event scheduled for January.
The response he got seems to perfectly capture where we are now.
https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2021/12/2021-ends-with-covid-craziness-in-sports-and-politics/
Comments
Please note, comments are no longer published through this website. All previously made comments are still archived and available for viewing through select posts.
Dee Sparacio
July 23, 2011 at 9:32 amI have enjoyed reading your recent blog posts on tweeting and media reporting on cancer screening information.
As an ovarian cancer survivor I feel that it is important for women to be aware of the symptoms of ovarian cancer and just as important that those women be aware that those symptoms can mimic other diseases. What also needs to be clarified is that to date there is no screening test for the general population for ovarian cancer – not CA-125 , not ultrasounds. Too many women are angry that there are no recommendations for CA-125 & ultrasound to be used during a woman’ annual gyn physical. Where was the media blitz when the Prostate, Lung and Ovarian Cancer study ( as reported at ASCO) showed that the ultrasound and CA-125 did not affect a women’s overall mortality?
I have noticed that the general media reports those initial screening studies yet very seldom is there a follow-up story – especially when the results of the studies are not positive. You might actually find more of those follow-up stories on the financial pages.
I look forward to reading more of your insightful posts. Thanks.
Our Comments Policy
But before leaving a comment, please review these notes about our policy.
You are responsible for any comments you leave on this site.
This site is primarily a forum for discussion about the quality (or lack thereof) in journalism or other media messages (advertising, marketing, public relations, medical journals, etc.) It is not intended to be a forum for definitive discussions about medicine or science.
We will delete comments that include personal attacks, unfounded allegations, unverified claims, product pitches, profanity or any from anyone who does not list a full name and a functioning email address. We will also end any thread of repetitive comments. We don”t give medical advice so we won”t respond to questions asking for it.
We don”t have sufficient staffing to contact each commenter who left such a message. If you have a question about why your comment was edited or removed, you can email us at feedback@healthnewsreview.org.
There has been a recent burst of attention to troubles with many comments left on science and science news/communication websites. Read “Online science comments: trolls, trash and treasure.”
The authors of the Retraction Watch comments policy urge commenters:
We”re also concerned about anonymous comments. We ask that all commenters leave their full name and provide an actual email address in case we feel we need to contact them. We may delete any comment left by someone who does not leave their name and a legitimate email address.
And, as noted, product pitches of any sort – pushing treatments, tests, products, procedures, physicians, medical centers, books, websites – are likely to be deleted. We don”t accept advertising on this site and are not going to give it away free.
The ability to leave comments expires after a certain period of time. So you may find that you’re unable to leave a comment on an article that is more than a few months old.
You might also like