View Full Version : The Media have a lot to answer for!
I just wonder how many HA sufferers will be panicking on top line since Iain Banks's release of his news that he has cancer, and the only symptom the press mentioned was backache (apart from jaundice much later on). How many of us have backache - a good 50% at some time or another. You can bet your life there were other symptoms not mentioned!
I think we are all exhorted constantly in the media to check, feel, look, palpate, investigate our bodies in all ways and this is much more difficult in practice than they suggest. And the constant parade of foods and drinks we should eat, shouldn't eat, avoid at all costs, etc. can just cause extra worry. My husband has had a mild heart attack and a ministroke and I feel under so much pressure to monitor his eating and cook healthy foods it puts a huge strain on me - while he is very relaxed about it all!
Googling anything is a recipe for disaster - I gave it up nearly 2 weeks ago after deciding that a pink area not even on my breast was inflammatory breast cancer! My GP says it's eczema but of course I don't believe him ... :wacko:
I have just had a conversation with my son about my daughter-in-law who had cancer nearly 6 years ago, and who has completely fallen off the hospital's systems somehow so that she hasn't been called back for 2 years or more and has never been given her 5-year 'all clear'. She has aches and pains all over and is terrified, but even more terrified of ringing the hospital and finding out something she'd rather put to the back of her mind. She is an inveterate googler and this makes it all so much worse. I have told my son to see if she can be transferred to another hospital - the one she was at is notorious for it's appalling admin, though we can't fault the medical care.
After this, just for once, I find that thinking of someone so much worse off than myself has helped me and put my silliness into perspective. As long as I don't read the medical pages in the paper and definitely DON'T GOOGLE :ohmy:
Just some of today's random thoughts ... :)
I saw that about Ian Banks and it freaked me out too, and there was another story about a film director who died of cancer this week too. It just reminds me of all the other stories I've heard about people with very vague or insignificant sounding symptoms getting diagnosed with end stave cancer. I find this sort of thing terrifying! I try to avoid these sorts of stories but as well as being in the news I hear about these things in real life too :(
spacebunnyx
05-04-13, 12:11
So true - but the worst things for me are the public campaigns.. the persistent cough one, the ovarian cancer one, the bowel cancer one. there's also an awful advert on the radio about compensation for mesothelioma. Back in the 80's/90's the campaign against HIV made me think I had it and I was only 11!!! :-(
I'm a journalist so I daresay I'm biased but wouldn't it be fairer to say the real issue isn't the media but people's health anxiety and perhaps reacting to stories like this in such a way should really be making them think " I need to do more/something about this".
Thousands upon thousand of people will have read the Iain Banks story yesterday and have thought something along the lines of "poor man, how sad".
The other side of the coin is that newspaper stories and charity campaigns about cancer awareness save many, may lives.
I hope I'm not upsetting people (I expect I am) but sometimes it can be helpful to look at things in a different way.
I agree I think this is what worries me most about cancer, I think I'm fairly vigilant with symptoms but then you hear of these people who are diagnosed when it's at a very advanced stage and the press will tell you "they'd just been feeling a bit off colour" or had "IBS symptoms" scares the life out of me. My doctor always tells me to avoid things in the press like the plague he said they will only ever print the bad stuff and put their own spin on it. He said printing stories about people who's cancer was picked up and cured doesn't sell papers and magazines, which is probably true!
JaneC, I think you're right really, I'm sure these campaigns are in the public interest as statistically I guess there are far, far more people who ignore symptoms or don't know what to look for than there are those of us who obsess constantly over things. I do sometimes think that the media is guilty of scaremongering though, like the new variant CJD scare in the 90s - it seemed to be on the news every single day and they were constantly suggesting that there would be hundreds of thousands of cases whereas in actual fact the numbers were quite small. The same applies to the dangers of bird flu and swine flu. However apparently many people still don't believe or realise that diet and lifestyle factors can affect your risk of certain types of cancer so clearly more education is needed in some areas.
I think we are certainly over sensitive to medical stories, but I also believe that the technological age comes with its disadvantages, especially for those of us who are prone to anxiety and take things on board emotionally more than the average person would. The news on TV is mostly negative and it can make you feel that the word is a threatening place. I think we have to be discerning about the information that we expose ourselves to and make sure that we surround oursleves with as much positivity as we can.
Thankyou Cattia for seeing some of what I am trying to say. People in general have such a poor perception of the media, admittedly in part because of the actions of some journalists, and I agree sensationalising things like swine flu etc is poor journalism.
However, there always more than way to look at things. Personally, I found the Iain Banks story rather inspirational. He knows he's dying but instead of sitting around moping about it he's off on honeymoon and "enjoying live to the max". Doesn't that make people stop and think?
Munchlet, your doc, not to put too fine a point on it, is talking cr@p. Papers and mags are full of positive stories about people who have survived cancer. We aren't stupid - we know people like to read "happy" stories.
The bottom line to what I'm saying is that blaming the media or anything else for one's problems is never going to make them any better. Taking responsibility oneself and acting on them is the only thing that will. To my mind, it's either a case of hiding away from reality, and I accept some people feel that is what they have to do, or confronting and attempting to tackle one's issues. Nobody is saying that is easy but it really is the only way to a better life.
nomorepanic
05-04-13, 13:55
The media stories and even the ad campaigns don't bother me at all. I take it all with a pinch of salt.
I know of more "real" people that are dealing with cancer at this very moment than celebs - I mean neighbours/friends etc.
You can't blame the media for publishing "sensational" news and "shocking" stories - it is how YOU react to it that matters.
Gotagetthroughthis
05-04-13, 14:04
We cant exactly not expect the media to report these things can we? Even if they do make it sound dramatic they don't have to calm it down just so they don't worry us folks with Health Anxiety.
Although I do understand how much stress it can cause as I have health anxiety myself. Just try and think how many people you know that aren't suddenly dying of cancer, we don't here these stories that often considering how many celebrities and people there are in the world. I try and think of it that way.
it is how YOU react to it that matters.
Thanks Nic, that's exactly it and it is not only the case with HA but with lots of anxiety and depression issues. It's the whole foundation for cbt - changing your reactions. It's not exactly a cure-all and you do have to work hard at it but It's powerful stuff if you are prepared to make the effort
Since Cancer Is a multi billion dollar a year industry here in the US I have my doubts about responsible journalism. I don't think any studies show that these scare campaigns lead to anything other than fear. I guess I am biased to the other side of the coin. I am not a fan of the media or advertising. Follow the money trail and you will see that there is a concerted effort afoot to spend our money on early testing so the care centers ( love the name) can grab their piece of the demographic. Don't get me wrong I believe some of these people do fantastic work. St. Jude for example doesn't charge families for their children's treatment. I have donated to them for years.
When I can't drive to work in the morning without hearing about some cancer clinic clamoring for my business it leaves a sour taste in my mouth and leaves me anxious. I know it's my problem to deal with but it drives me nuts as that is my number 1 anxiety.
I don't know about other countries but the way the health care is in the US once you create a scare it generates billions of dollars for the industry. Weather it be flu shots bird flu mad cow or cancer.
I SAY STOP THE MADNESS (probably not a popular view)
---------- Post added at 07:42 ---------- Previous post was at 07:24 ----------
I just can't seem to let this topic go so I had to add on. As I read through a lot of the posts here on NMP it has dawned on me that the media has to take some of the blame for this. Just read a post about a young lady who was given the all clear from her doctor after an MRI and now believes she has Lyme disease. If she didn't know anything about Lyme disease she would be off on her vacation with no worries.
If I lived my life free of HA and lived that life fully weather it be 20 40 or 80 years and then died of something I would have lived a much better life than spending however many years living in dread of the next fatal disease that was popular with the media. Exploitation and fear Is how I see it.
Once again it is my problem to deal with but sometimes I wish I didn't know so much
Jane, I can see where you're coming from and there are clearly plenty of responsible journalists out there who don't deliberately scare-monger, but even in the most sober broadsheets there are times when the number of medical articles and news stories exhorting us to eat this or avoid that are laughable - you can have two stories on the same page which appear to contradict one another. For instance: drinking red wine is good for this or that, and another article saying even one drink a day can contribute towards breast cancer for women. Probably both true up to a point, but the statistics produced (if any are) are usually insufficient for one to get the full picture and make an informed decision. I have on the whole learnt to take these stories with a pinch of salt, but I know even very intelligent people who have been swayed by such things and adopted a 'health policy' based on such flimsy evidence.
Of course it's a big step forward to encourage people to take responsibility for monitoring their own health, but it can be very scary for folks like us, and insufficient information such as 'look out for this symptom' without more detail can trigger an over-reaction and send people scurrying to their doctor unnecessarily.
Justice - I think things are rather different in the States. I was in the USA last year and also did a cruise on an American ship from San Francisco to Alaska, and was horrified by the numher of 'quack' remedies that were being lectured on, advertised and sold as possible cures for cancer and other major diseases. Fortunately for us in the UK people are not allowed to make such claims so we are protected. Private medical establishments are allowed to advertise of course, but they are very restricted in what they can claim about products and procedures etc.
When I'm in a normal state of mental health and not 'hyper anxious' as I am at present, I can be quite rational about self-examination etc., but right now I'm finding it hard as I'm sure many other people do.
Yes, I agree that Iain Banks has come across very well and I wish him and his wife as much good time together as possible - and if it were possible a miracle would be nice. I also enormously admire Terry Pratchett - and I don't imagine for a moment that I'm going down the same road as him!
Thanks for the reply. I understand that I only have the one reference US media and health care. I guess my main point Is that there is some sinister disease out there right now that we don't know exists therefore we don't fear it. We may even die from it but it is of no concern. I realize this is a head in the sand approach but so what.
After reading some books about epidemics and how they tend to be contagious mentally since there is no physical contagion it makes me pause and wonder.
nomorepanic
05-04-13, 16:46
Of course it's a big step forward to encourage people to take responsibility for monitoring their own health, but it can be very scary for folks like us, and insufficient information such as 'look out for this symptom' without more detail can trigger an over-reaction and send people scurrying to their doctor unnecessarily.
I was watching one of those fly on the wall documentaries about a day in the life of an NHS hospital sort of thing and one of the nurses did raise a valid point about something.
A guy went in with chest pain assuming it was a heart attack cos he had seen an advert or read something about getting to A&E straight away if you had chest pains.
What the advert failed to mention though was that it was possibly only serious if you had other factors to consider like: were you are smoker, alcohol drinker, overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, family history of heart disease etc.
If you had any of those then yes it warranted a trip to A&E but otherwise it simply warranted a trip to your own doctor or the out of hours doctor.
So I think she was saying that the adverts need to give more specific info about when the alarm bells should ring.
If I sit and read the posters in our doctor's surgery (based on the information on the poster) then I have ovarian cancer and bowel cancer to name just 2!
My doctor won't put the posters on the wall just for that very reason
Kind of off topic but you Guys use terms like NHS and A&E what do those mean?
People can also get scared by TV hospital dramas - which paint a very poor picture of the reality! I've heard of people turning up in A&E because they thought they had the same symptoms as one of the actors - however, I wouldn't advocate banning medical dramas on TV - I love them!
One of the other things to avoid (along with Google) is I think the 'side effects' section on the leaflet with your tablets. Last year I got my husband to rush me to the surgery because I was convinced I was showing all the symptoms of one of the 'very serious, see your doctor NOW' side effects on an anti-depressant tablet leaflet. He looked at me in amazement and said 'What do you want me to do?' as I was I suppose very obviously having a panic attack! Not an ideal reaction from him, but it shocked me out of my panic attack!
nomorepanic
05-04-13, 17:12
My doctor won't put the posters on the wall just for that very reason
Kind of off topic but you Guys use terms like NHS and A&E what do those mean?
National Health Service and Accident and Emergency
I am not an advocate of banning anything. I am completely about freedom but with freedom comes personal responsibility. For example our freedom to discuss such things on NMP with an understanding about the sensitivity of the people we are dealing with myself included. I guess I'm just expressing an opinion about how these things make me feel. Once again my problem to deal with and I hope I can get past it someday. I would never advocate putting restrictions on these shows or on advertisements. I think the motives for such things are purley profit and no one cares about the damage they do. I absolutely respect the people who defend the position of the media because they have very genuine reasons for choosing that profession and I did not mean to bring anyone personally under fire. I am speaking in general terms only.
This coming from a very conservative capitalist. So I guess I can add hypocrite to my resume
---------- Post added at 09:22 ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 ----------
National Health Service and Accident and Emergency
Thanks Nicola that will make these posts easier to follow
nomorepanic
05-04-13, 17:34
I think you have harder hitting adverts/news coverage etc over in the USA justice38.
We certainly don't seem to get it rammed down our throats as much as you do.
That is why I am on here. I have been on a few of these sites in the US and they don't seem to have the same tone as the people on NMP. Don't get me wrong I am very proud to be an American but have come to understand the perspective of other people especially the ones I have come across here.
You seem to be a very caring group of people that have made me feel very welcomed and comfortable with the support and advise.
So Thank you
Jane C I'm not saying journalists/press are stupid but I don't think my doctor is talking crap as you put it.
I think he realises that for people like me reading stories about health issues is not a good idea and I have to say I'm inclined to agree with him, Maybe it is the type of paper/magazine I see but on the whole they do seem to focus more on the tragic stories than actual uplifting ones.
I fully appreciate that the media can be very helpful and I think making people aware of symptoms is a good idea. I also agree with what a previous poster said about how there are probably far more people ignoring symptoms than us Ha's who obsess over it and if making people aware is saving extra lives then that is a positive result.
I think it's a fine balance between getting the facts out there but not scaring people. I know friends who do not have HA in the slightest but have seen an advert or story about some illness and on reading it have been extremely concerned and headed straight off to the doctor only to be told it's something far less serious than they were thinking.
It's a very difficult one as there negatives and positives on both sides and I know that the fact I can't read medical articles without getting into a panic is something I need to deal but unfortunately when you are in a HA spiral these things are easier said than done.
Coppernob, if papers are printing contradictory stories in close proximity, their staff need to buck up :rolleyes: but I'm aware it happens.
And I do know how hard it is to tackle anxiety, not HA but other types. I guess it's just my personality to try to combat it rather than let it take over my life. Maybe it's not the same for everyone but it makes me sad to see people let it dominate their existence when life is there to be lived and there are things people can try to do to help themselves.
Coppernob, if papers are printing contradictory stories in close proximity, their staff need to buck up :rolleyes: but I'm aware it happens.
And I do know how hard it is to tackle anxiety, not HA but other types. I guess it's just my personality to try to combat it rather than let it take over my life. Maybe it's not the same for everyone but it makes me sad to see people let it dominate their existence when life is there to be lived and there are things people can try to do to help themselves.
But surely we are all trying to combat our anxiety, and using this site to help us do this. Of course none of us choose to let it take over our lives, it is when we become overwhelmed by it that it can be very helpful to be on a site with other folk who understand. Constantly telling yourself that you're ruining your life with these fears actually does nothing to help improve the situation, but puts you under even more self-imposed pressure. I'm having a very bad day today and none of the sensible advice I give myself is dispelling the sinking stomach! Just hoping the diazepam I have taken will kick in soon :wacko:
Coppernob, I am sorry you are having a bad day. I hope it improves :hugs:
Coppernob, I am sorry you are having a bad day. I hope it improves :hugs:
Thank you :D ! Trying to chuckle my way out of it :yesyes:
Gotagetthroughthis
20-04-13, 19:02
Sorry to bring this thread back up but thought I would instead of starting a whole new 1. Has anyone seem that new British heart foundation advert? That really is scare mongering. I know its to create awareness but they are showing clips of athletes, Muamba the footballer whos heart stopped while playing. Saying it can affect the unexpected. Showing a young girl that died due to heart disease or something like that.
Do people really need or what to be worrying about these things, especially when they are young. I do understand they need to make people aware so they can catch things early, but there are ways of doing it and that advert is to much I think.
unsure_about_this
20-04-13, 19:50
These adverts on television/radio etc are usefully if there save lifes. It has make my HA more higher these public adverts the bowel cancer I am 29 and it has really put the fear in me. Even though I been told I have IBS and had tests done. I probably wont be happy until I have every test going to make sure I am okay.
Reading articles on Daily Mail sites people being fobbed off etc by their doctors.
I been to the doctors so many times in the last 18 months because I fear about my health. Using google and cancer/medical websites.
I been told to not read about these things because it probably not doing me any good. I am frighten because I read something on the Internet, in the paper, heard something.
LongingForSunrise
20-04-13, 20:13
One thing about news media and their lack of information is probably a big cause for people having Health Anxiety to this day, but of course there's also a vulnerability amongst us.
But all too often, if you read news that wants it sensational, there is the lack of information in articles about how example too much of something eatable is killing people. There is often like on a pack of cigarettes. "Smoking Kills." That's the headline and then a couple of rows about it. Of course we get worried. WE fill in the blanks and this is absolutely reckless journalism as well. Because they very rarely give the whole story, only the sensational part and the alarming part.
---------- Post added at 21:13 ---------- Previous post was at 21:10 ----------
These adverts on television/radio etc are usefully if there save lifes. It has make my HA more higher these public adverts the bowel cancer I am 29 and it has really put the fear in me. Even though I been told I have IBS and had tests done. I probably wont be happy until I have every test going to make sure I am okay.
Reading articles on Daily Mail sites people being fobbed off etc by their doctors.
I been to the doctors so many times in the last 18 months because I fear about my health. Using google and cancer/medical websites.
I been told to not read about these things because it probably not doing me any good. I am frighten because I read something on the Internet, in the paper, heard something.
I feel you. I don't read about cancer at all anymore, because it freaks me out how many different kinds and symptoms there are. So I quit that behaviour, it's better to be worried about nothing than to be fixed at something deadly.
I may however still check out some heart conditions or information about the heart, but I try to stay away from that too.
I actually had TWO whole GOOD months, and then when I stood up fast I heard my heart beat slowly and hard inside my head. I googled that +panic to see if it's common and got about a nasty heart condition. Ever since that I haven't been quite the same in that area. Shouldn't have googled! :winks:
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