EDITORIAL

Volume 4, Number 3
July-September1999

Editorial: Stamp Out Cancer

Scott C. Ratzan, Editor

If one asked friends, family, or co-workers what one feared the most in life, cancer would surely be on everyone’s list.  Most women name breast cancer as the greatest threat to their health*, and many men are similarly fearful of prostate cancer.  Despite the millions of dollars that have been spent to develop accurate screening and treatment, many people are still unsure about the signs of cancer and what they should do to ensure early detection.

Today, advances in medical discovery are unmatched historically.  Yet, Americans’ health has not kept pace adopting ideal health behaviors to live a longer, better quality life.   Consider it took over 25 years with a major long-term initiative by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to get Americans to know their blood pressure level and seek appropriate treatment.  We also have launched numerous efforts to eliminate smoking.  There has been moderate success – most people now know their blood pressure and cholesterol level; many people have quit smoking.  However, many more have not, and, even worse, many Americans avoid getting appropriate medical check-ups for prostate, breast, colon and cervical cancer even though it may save their life.

Is the problem that people don’t know, don’t want to know, or just don’t care?  Or is it that we live in an overcrowded information age in which the average American is exposed to thousands of messages a day resulting in an inability to prioritize and act on potentially lifesaving communication?

During this summer the United States Postal Service released a new theme stamp on prostate cancer.   Yet, certain members of the medical community are critical of such efforts.  Despite efforts by the postal service to increase funding for breast cancer research, develop AIDS awareness and even place organ donation on adhesive stamps, certain members of the medical community are critical of public health efforts.

A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine (March 18, 1999) by Drs. Woloshin and Schwartz of Dartmouth Medical School, contends that efforts by the U.S. Postal Service to issue stamps with themes of breast cancer and prostate cancer is misguided.  The authors suggest the prostate cancer stamp should not be issued and that the postal service “should consider not issuing stamps with health related themes.”

Such misguided medical mantras criticizing broad-based public health efforts miss the role of communication to advance awareness, dialogue, and action to drive individuals, the health system, and the government to address the health needs of Americans.  Decades of research in health communication and behavioral sciences consistently indicate that to be effective in advancing health messages, the public needs to hear, see and reflect on health information beyond the traditional medical setting.  Just as in our formal education, it is only after multiple exposures and repetition that knowledge is gained, offering the potential to later translate into action and behavior change.

Preventing cancer is everyone’s responsibility, and should not be left to just the U.S. Department of Health and Human Health Services, state Departments of Public Health, the American Cancer Society, and certainly not just doctors.  We should hope that health messages are advanced by clever people in all fields so that we can have a more health literate society.  Communication is good medicine for everyone.

The fact that the US Postal Service is printing millions of postage stamps on breast and prostate cancer is a tribute to exploring innovative ideas to advance healthfulness.  Other governmental agencies and influential organizations could also look for unique ways to contribute to the common currency of humankind– health.  One such example would be the Department of Labor and Department of Education beginning a simple handwashing campaign to limit the spread of pathogens that cause disease and the common cold, resulting in decreased absenteeism and increased productivity at work and schools.  Other interagency initiatives could work to develop the use of new technologies and outreach programs to protect Americans from hearing loss at work, protection from known environmental contamination, and preparedness for new emerging diseases.  Any of these could be the subject of future stamps.

The United States has used postage stamps to communicate for more than 150 years, on topics ranging from the annual Christmas stamp to cancer.   Tomorrow, with electronic mail and the Internet, the adhesive stamp on hand-delivered mail may be a twentieth century icon.  While we still use them, they can and should have a role in placing important health issues on the public agenda.

We all should support the health communication efforts of the postal service and use the stamps.  More importantly, we should heed the messages: to get appropriately screened for breast and prostate cancer.  

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