Public/user involvement

Today is not the day to be working for a breast cancer charity. Staff will be drafting Press Releases and copy for the websites, the phones will be ringing off the hook, some callers will be distressed, others angry, the press will be pressing and at the back of the staff’s mind will be the uncertainty.

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (BCAM) Deep sigh. This is the annual high point of my cancer awareness scepticism, stimulated by breast cancer charities and their crappy business model that muddles awareness for health, with their brand recognition and market share. See legions of my previous posts….

Now I’ve tried to open a debate  - with myself, I realise, but an occasional blogger can dream - I’m setting off into boggy ground. Whilst being positive about the expertise of experts in my immediately previous post, I do know doctors and scientists can get it wrong. We still need to work on avoiding the automatic deferential respect of their expert position.

Overrated? Dangerous?  Sometimes, yes. Advocacy by people and patients with a personal connection to a health issue is not an unequivocal good. The public interest is not always well served by involving patients/sufferers in health lobbying.

As you can tell from previous posts I’ve been thinking about the pink malarkey that surrounds breast cancer. It may be my personal problem. I’m perfectly prepared to own it, if it just mine. I agree my ennui may mean I’m a weirdo outlier. If not, though, that weariness must surely ring warning bells for breast cancer charities? Is there a chance that their activities, hitherto highly regarded, are shading into the counterproductive?