I believe some of the credit for public awareness must be given to the news anchors, both local and national, who elaborate on their personal conditions.
Here is Jax, one of the local reporters has a yearly "Buddy Check" for breast cancer.
[QUOTE]The death projection, based on about 35 years of data, suggests annual cancer deaths will rise again[/QUOTE]...
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The ACS has those projections.
[URL=http://www.cancer.org]www.cancer.org[/URL] Check out the statistics for 2007. They have state by state projections.
#1 prostate (men get your exams!) #2 lung/bronchus (quit smoking!) #3 breast (women do your self-exams and get your mammograms!) #4 colon/rectum (eat your fruits/veggies and get your colonoscopies!)
The top 4 have definite preventative measures!
I'm way more partial to the ACS and the efforts they make at a variety of levels (as opposed to news anchors). They target all cancers. They focus on research, education, advocacy and service. I will mention that I am biased though - I choose to volunteer and financially support the ACS. Currently I am chair for the Relay For Life in my community (again).
Just a teensie bit of criticism at the article - again "cancer" is presented as a singular disease. This makes the word cancer needlessly "loaded". This seems the only group of diseases grouped like this. And yet, there are as many "cancers" as there are infections.....
SJ, I hope you did not take my post as I only get my info from news anchors.
My point was that most people have 1-2 tv's in their home and not all have the internet to look up [URL=http://www.cancer.org.]www.cancer.org.[/URL] What a great way to send an informative message to millions of people at once who otherwise may not do anything.
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I get most of my news from People or Self or In Style. ;) You can get yours from news anchors.
The ACS is a national organization and believe it or not has The Relay in a lot of other countries. Because of that simple fact and the fact that there are 4 main areas where money is devoted, the ACS doesn't just target "people" but also assists with research and advocacy... the ACS has a representative on some medical boards too (can't remember which ones). So... technically, the news anchors you mention may get an informative message out to a lot of people, which is good... but to me, the news anchors fall more in the realm of "awareness." The ACS is driven not just in raising awareness, but also in creating change. Change in legislation; change in treatment... support for those with cancer and their families... and also awareness/prevention. Most people have a phone though... 24/7 someone can be reached at 1-800-ACS-2345 You don't have to look anything up, you can just call them! And yep, I tried the number JUST to see if I got a recording or had to leave a message. LOL The line was picked up and answered by a person. LOL I was impressed.