|
|
Article: Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Fear-Mongering Sells Drugs.(University of California, San Francisco web site answers questions on breast cancer)
- Article from:
- HealthFacts
- Article date:
- October 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Center for Medical Consumers, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Now in its 15th year, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month continues to generate predictable media stories with depressing regularity. Each October the "educational" activities are largely funded by AstraZeneca, whose subsidiary pharmaceutical company is the most likely to benefit from women's fear of breast cancer. Mainstream media have yet to take a hard look at disease awareness and its effect on women.
What is the cost of raising fear of a disease that most women will not get? Two identifiable changes in public perception can be directly linked to promotion of breast cancer awareness. More women now overestimate their odds of getting breast cancer and more ...