Can cancer be cool?
June 8th 2008 13:01
Cancer directly affects 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in Australia by the age of 85. This isn’t cool.
Most of us know someone, be it family or friends, who have been diagnosed with some form of cancer, and many of us are sadly resigned to the fact that our own fate may end because of “The big C”. Due to this, the majority of the population has a vested interest in finding out the cause and cure of this disease. Fortunately, the generosity of people that donate money toward cancer research has contributed to increasing the survival rate for many common cancers by more than 30% over the past 20 years.
There’s a number of different cancers that affect vast numbers of people. Is it a surprise that more Australians are diagnosed and die from prostate and bowel cancer than breast cancer each year? I think to most, probably. Breast cancer currently has an amazingly successful public awareness and marketing strategy. The Pink Ribbon campaign in particular has aided breast cancer awareness and research beyond belief. There is Pink Ribbon Day, Girls' Nights In, and the entire month of October is dedicated to Breast Cancer. The “Think Pink” idea has spread to the selling of pink capped Mount Franklin bottles and pink Tim-tams, through to the pink illumination of people’s porches and the Sydney Opera House.
It doesn’t hurt that a plethora of our favourite beautiful (and blonde?) celebrities, such as Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Belinda Emmett, and fashion designer Heidi Middleton, have all been famously diagnosed with breast cancer. The diagnosis of Kylie Minogue even triggered a surge in breast screening of low-risk women. And then there's the support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation by beautiful patrons and ambassadors, like Sarah O'Hare, Natalie Bassingthwaite and Layne Beachley. So which public personalities then, have been diagnosed with prostate or bowel cancer? None come immediately to mind.
It is true that the prostate cancer awareness campaign has picked up speed of late, with the ever-growing and popular month of Movember. However, it's still not as "attractive" as breast cancer, let alone bowel cancer. It would seem, that for some reason, people are more interested in the breast, compared to the prostate or bowel.
Being a breast cancer researcher myself I probably shouldn't be complaining, nor should I actually be pointing this matter out. The current high profile of breast cancer is nothing short of fantastic, and with recent reports of the mortality rate actually decreasing, the marketing campaign and current research is obviously succeeding somehow. But at the same time, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for some of the other more lethal, yet "less attractive" diseases.
Most of us know someone, be it family or friends, who have been diagnosed with some form of cancer, and many of us are sadly resigned to the fact that our own fate may end because of “The big C”. Due to this, the majority of the population has a vested interest in finding out the cause and cure of this disease. Fortunately, the generosity of people that donate money toward cancer research has contributed to increasing the survival rate for many common cancers by more than 30% over the past 20 years.
There’s a number of different cancers that affect vast numbers of people. Is it a surprise that more Australians are diagnosed and die from prostate and bowel cancer than breast cancer each year? I think to most, probably. Breast cancer currently has an amazingly successful public awareness and marketing strategy. The Pink Ribbon campaign in particular has aided breast cancer awareness and research beyond belief. There is Pink Ribbon Day, Girls' Nights In, and the entire month of October is dedicated to Breast Cancer. The “Think Pink” idea has spread to the selling of pink capped Mount Franklin bottles and pink Tim-tams, through to the pink illumination of people’s porches and the Sydney Opera House.
It doesn’t hurt that a plethora of our favourite beautiful (and blonde?) celebrities, such as Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Belinda Emmett, and fashion designer Heidi Middleton, have all been famously diagnosed with breast cancer. The diagnosis of Kylie Minogue even triggered a surge in breast screening of low-risk women. And then there's the support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation by beautiful patrons and ambassadors, like Sarah O'Hare, Natalie Bassingthwaite and Layne Beachley. So which public personalities then, have been diagnosed with prostate or bowel cancer? None come immediately to mind.
It is true that the prostate cancer awareness campaign has picked up speed of late, with the ever-growing and popular month of Movember. However, it's still not as "attractive" as breast cancer, let alone bowel cancer. It would seem, that for some reason, people are more interested in the breast, compared to the prostate or bowel.
Being a breast cancer researcher myself I probably shouldn't be complaining, nor should I actually be pointing this matter out. The current high profile of breast cancer is nothing short of fantastic, and with recent reports of the mortality rate actually decreasing, the marketing campaign and current research is obviously succeeding somehow. But at the same time, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for some of the other more lethal, yet "less attractive" diseases.
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