Cancer Reporting in the Press First Do No Harm... 2nd International Conference of Health Journalism Cancer Reporting in the Press How much harm does it do? Barry Turner, Senior Lecturer in Science Journalism, Lincoln School of Journalism

Primum non Nocere We are all familiar with the Principalist Medical Ethic that commands that the medical professional shall “first do no harm” Or more accurately… NEVER do harm. It is a doctrine that has often not been fully subscribed to by Medics And almost never by the Press

Cancer in the Press Cancer is a favorite topic of the print media Cancer stories lend themselves well to the News Values of health reporting. Health reporting in general is divided around two main themes The Scare Story The Medical Breakthrough

Cancer in the Modern World Cancer is one of the major killers of the 21st century There were 8.2 million deaths from cancer in the world in 2012 Cardiovascular diseases remain the biggest NCD killer (7 million heart attacks & 6.2 million strokes in 2011)

Fear of Cancer A survey of 1,007 adults by Harris Interactive for the MetLife Foundation finds that 41% of people fear cancer most, Closely followed by Alzheimer’s disease at 31%. The report says 8% fear stroke the most and 8% heart disease. 6% fear diabetes

Fear of Cancer Fear of cancer far outweighs the fear of the much bigger killer, cardiovascular disease. This is probably because of the nature of cancer death The Alzheimer's figure at 31% supports this in that the disease aetiology is the most frightening part of it Diabetes, itself a major killer and a very nasty disease curiously occupies little ‘worry time’

Cancer, The Story Cancer provides the press with a wealth of stories And most of the common news values apply Cancer meets the level of perceived importance or drama to be newsworthy Cancer is something the reader can identify with (Threshold)

Journalistic Imperatives ‘Professional imperatives which act as implicit guides to the construction of news stories (Chibnall 1977) Threshold Predictability Simplification Individualism Risk Sex Celebrity Proximity Violence Spectacle Children Conservatism

Journalistic Imperatives ‘Professional imperatives which act as implicit guides to the construction of news stories (Chibnall 1977) Threshold Predictability Simplification Individualism Risk Sex Reader can identify Aetiology and treatment Use of military terms Avoidance of complexity The basis of all scare stories HPV and other alleged sexually transmitted causes

Journalistic Imperatives ‘Professional imperatives which act as implicit guides to the construction of news stories (Chibnall 1977) Celebrity Proximity Violence Spectacle Children Conservatism Celebrities ‘battle’ cancer Cultural relevance War on Cancer battle against cancer, fight etc.) Children with cancer emphasised in media Populist values (such as resource allocation just deserts etc)

Priorities The press prioritises stories around news values This often leads to disproportionate stories about certain types of cancer Huge emphasis on supporting campaigns (often based on political or commercial pressures rather than real health issues)

Campaigns Campaigns have the role of increasing cancer awareness Slick PR and advertising can be used Very expensive campaigns attract press attention Celebrities can have a huge effect Sometimes those behind the campaign are less altruistic than they seem!

Moralities Lung cancer is still one of the biggest killers 43,463 people in the UK were diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011.* There were 35,184 deaths from lung cancer in the UK in 2011.* 9.0% of adult lung cancer patients (7.8% of men and 9.3% of women) in England survived their cancer for five years or more in 2005-2009.* * Statistics: Cancer Research UK

Moralities Lung cancer associated with behaviour and presented as less deserving Liver cancer also associated with lifestyle choices and similarly less deserving Moral conservatism is a powerful news value

The Stories that Never Ran Osteoporosis and Cancer The scientific journals are full of reports that hormonal treatments for osteoporosis are linked to increased invasiveness in cancer metastasis Drugs that can treat osteoporosis initiate cell signaling pathways that also trigger tumour cell migration

The Stories that Never Ran SSRI’s and Breast Cancer Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (Prozac, Seroxat, Lustral) inhibit liver antigens that metabolise cancer chemotherapy (Tamoxifen) SSRI’s are prescribed for depression and anxiety (commonly found in people with cancer)

The Press Fails Us! When stories don’t run we don’t get informed The startling fact about the stories that did not run is that many doctors are unaware of these prescribing risks Certainly many patients who take the drugs are unaware of the side effects, some of which are fatal