Media Coverage of Celebrity Breast Cancer Makes a Mark
In this Medical News Minute, Dr Bobby Lazzara reviews a study on the influence of media bias on far-reaching medical decisions in the general public.
In this Medical News Minute, developed exclusively for Consultantlive.com, Dr Bobby Lazzara reviews results of a study by the Society of Surgical Oncology that examined the potential for an association between the growing number of bilateral mastectomies among women with breast cancer in the general population and media coverage of celebrities undergoing the radical surgery. The findings on the content bias of media reports may not come as a surprise but the proposed impact of this bias on medical decision making should sound an alarm.
Source: Sabel MS, Cin SD. Trends in media reports of celebrities' breat cancer treatment decisions. Ann Surg Oncol. pp 1-7 First online: 06 April 2016.
