HHS HealthBeat (May 30, 2008)

Hearing what you can do about breast cancer?

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

News reports tell you what researchers and doctors are doing about treating breast cancer. What about things you can do to reduce your risk of getting breast cancer? Researcher Charles Atkin of Michigan State University says the media don’t pick up much on them.

Atkin reviewed more than two years of national media coverage. His study in the Journal of Health Communication was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Thirty-one percent of stories looked at treatment; only 18 percent at prevention. Few focused on lifestyle.

Atkin says the media pick up on treatment because that’s new. Prevention is tried and true – in other words, not new.

``If the mass media would present information about eating right and exercising and avoiding contaminants and getting checkups, that would probably be what most experts would recommend.’’  (11 seconds)

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HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May, 29 2008