Search Results for "Prostate Cancer Awareness Month"
WPIX-TV’s flawed attempt for “prostate cancer awareness month”
The following is a collaborative post written by committee: two of our reviewers who track the prostate cancer literature diligently – Richard Hoffman, MD, and Ruth Lipman, PhD (both of whose bios you can find at: https://www.healthnewsreview.org/who-we-are.php) …with a little input from me. ————————————————————————————————– Sometimes our eyes wander around the country at various media messages. […]
4
Prostate cancer screening: massive study gets minimal coverage. Why?
The largest-ever randomized trial of using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test in asymptomatic men over the age of 50 has found — after about 10 years of follow-up — no significant difference in prostate cancer deaths among men who were screened with a single (“one-off”) PSA test, and those who weren’t screened. The findings come […]
3
A prostate ‘Pep Talk’ is the wrong way to get men thinking about cancer screening
With September’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in full swing, an industry-affiliated partnership has turned to high-profile former NFL coaches to deliver its prostate cancer screening message. It’s a clever choice: professional coaches are good at getting men to do all kinds of things they might not otherwise want to do, whether it’s extra wind sprints […]
What you’re not being told about ‘free’ public head and neck cancer screening events
‘Tis the season of oral, head, and neck cancer screenings, with a plethora of free public events taking place at health clinics and hospitals all over the country right now. Judging by the abundant and largely uncritical news coverage, it’s been a major PR win for the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, which runs the trademarked […]
PARP inhibitors: STAT’s look at new ovarian cancer drugs should have established why we need more on the market
Do we really need more PARP inhibitors beyond the one that’s already approved? If so, why? This story didn’t clarify these things for readers.
The race to create a new class of ovarian cancer drugs heats up
Do we need an “Awareness” Awareness Month? Or more giant testicles pushed cross-country?
A TIME magazine opinion column today asks, “When Is ‘Awareness’ Awareness Month?“ The timing of the column is excellent, coming, as it does, in the season of prostate cancer and breast cancer awareness campaigns, Pinktober and Movember et al. Excerpts: ” ‘Awareness’ is a virus that preys on well-meaning minds. It tricks us into thinking […]
10/2/2014More conflicted, imbalanced prostate information from FOX News
Conflicted and imbalanced because they let Dr. David Samadi, who runs a robotic surgery center in New York, be the unchallenged expert about “raising awareness for prostate cancer.” In fact, they let the self-promotional Samadi get away with promoting the #SamadiChallenge – which, if you use that on Twitter, will eat up 16 of your […]
1 10/1/2014My article kicks off 5th Annual Health Literacy Month Blog Series
For the third consecutive year, I’ve contributed to the Health Literacy Month Blog Series. Today, my article, “Media Messages about Screenings and their Role in Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment,” kicks off the 5th annual month-long blog series. Below is a copy of what I wrote: ——————————— Disclaimer: the following is not an anti-screening message. It is, however, […]
NBC races the clock in a race to the bottom with anchormen & prostate cancer screening promotion
It was not the peacock’s finest hour. Or even their finest 34 seconds. Last week, NBC Today show anchors Matt Lauer and Al Roker had digital rectal exams (out of view, behind closed doors) on live TV. Lauer and the network announced that “The live event is part of No-Shave November, TODAY’s initiative to raise […]
10/16/2013Atlanta TV station has newsmen promoting prostate cancer screening
We interrupt breast cancer awareness month messages to bring you some prostate cancer awareness news. After we wrote about problems with a Buffalo prostate cancer screening promotion, reader Ken Leebow of Atlanta wrote to me about what the NBC station in Atlanta has been doing. What is particularly problematic in this campaign is that journalists […]
10/5/2011Excellent NY Times piece on cancer screening
Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer teamed to deliver one of the best pieces on cancer screening that I’ve seen. “Can Cancer Ever Be Ignored?” appears online today but will be in print in next Sunday’s New York Times magazine. The piece includes great perspectives from: Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society (“I’m […]
9/14/2011Not much prostate cancer awareness in ABC’s Bobby Bowden revelation
In a highly-promoted appearance, legendary Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden went on ABC’s Good Morning America yesterday to announce that he had kept silent since 2007 about his diagnosis with prostate cancer. First, let me say that I’ve always liked this guy. Funny. Charming. Coached teams that were fun to watch. But that doesn’t […]
9/16/2011Reflection on one week of pro-screening biases in many media messages
We’re in the midst of what has been proclaimed prostate cancer awareness month, which has apparently also been proclaimed ovarian cancer awareness month. And next month is breast cancer awareness month. Various media have joined in on the awareness efforts. But awareness of what? In some cases – some seen just in the past week […]
9/17/2009Live TV of digital rectal exam appointment ignores evidence
The South Dakota resident who sent me the following video clip wrote, simply, “Just…wow.” Keloland News Healthbeat reporter Kelli Grant is taking you to an appointment every man over 50 should schedule with their doctor. That’s an editorial/advocacy stance not backed up by evidence-based guidelines from many major medical and heatlh care organizations. And […]
We have everything to fear, including fear itself
In 1997 Frank Furedi — an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent — wrote a critically acclaimed book entitled, “How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the 21st Century.” In that book he tells the story of the public reaction to a magazine cover portraying a little girl fishing with her father. […]
