Last night I watched Sky’s two part programme ‘My Breasts Could Kill Me’ which was presented and executive produced by a woman called Dawn Porter. It made me so angry that I couldn’t sleep and had to get out of bed at 3am to send Ms Porter an irate e-mail about why I thought her programme was exploitative and misleading.
The programme comprised Part 1 - Look How Pretty I Am As I Wonder If I Might have Breast Cancer and Part 2 – Look How Beautifully I Emote When I Discover I Don’t. Ms Porter had a mammogram and consultations with a Doctor in what looked like an NHS hospital. What made me doubt if it was actually an NHS facility ? Dawn was always filmed sat alone and looking pouty and wistful in an empty waiting room, and was offered tests and investigations that could save many lives but are not routinely offered to women who can’t pay for them.
Ms Porter was given an MRI as a screening tool and a blood test to establish whether or not she had a genetic pre-disposition to cancer. Neither of these tests are freely available on the NHS to women who are at extremely high risk of the disease – this was not explained in Ms Porter’s breathy commentary - and was therefore wildly misleading.
Breast Cancer is all over my family. It has been said that we have a malignant family tree with the youngest incidence of the disease appearing when the family member was just 31 years old. The facts are that the NHS offer high risk women screening that begins at age 35: and this screening amounts to advice on self examination, a mammogram and discussion about family history. MRI’s are not offer. There may or may not be a blood test to identify genetic risk. Many factors come into play before this blood test is offered, yet Ms Porter appeared to wander in off the street, ask for one and get it immediately.
My biggest issue was that in both programmes Dawn Porter spoke to a number of lovely women who did have breast cancer, and all of them had more of value and interest to say on the subject than she did . These women had endured surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy and shared their heartbreaking stories with Ms Porter who used them to imagine how awful her life would be if what happened to these terminally ill women should also happen to her. That’s not informing, and it’s not entertaining so what exactly was this programme for ?
The Gerson Method is a controversial ‘anti cancer’ eating programme that is demanding and intensive. Exponents suggest it should be followed for many months if not years to be effective. Cancer patients often turn to it when they are scared and utterly desperate. Dawn Porter gave the method, including a coffee enema, a whirl for a few hours in her programme and announced with a fit of giggles that she had given it up because it was all much too embarrassing.
The entire programme was misleading and a vehicle for Dawn Porter to flutter her eyelashes over her tear filled eyes and invite us to sympathise with her because she might, or might not, at some time in the future get a breast tumour. I am pleased that she is well and all her tests, the ones that me and mine and the rest of the population can’t have on the NHS, came back clear.
I didn’t see the prog BUT in Ireland, when my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35 ( subsequently cancer everywhere, which she died of 7 months later), the rest of us 4 sisters were advised to get checked out. We all live in different places. We all contacted our local health ‘services’. We were all laughed at for being ‘too young’ despite our sister’s diagnosis. None of us was checked out…
Nuala, it makes me so angry that even with a strong breast cancer risk in the family women can’t get screening and MRI’s unless they pay for them. I’m so sorry about your sister. Breast cancer is a cruel disease.
Anna May x
The trivialising of an important subject; “Oh, look at me, haven’t I got nice (“insert euphemism here) – wouldn’t it be a shame if anything happened to them?” (waves cut onion under nose).
Career-minded women may, of course, use any avenue of exploitation they wish; climbing the ladder horizontally, geting photographed with whomever, wherever, or, indeed slapping the goods on the table for all to see. Actresses have a reputation for having done exactly that since Ugg the Cave-producer first tempted Miss Neanderthal back to his cave for a casting session.
Don’t, however, claim that it is being done for educational purposes – not when you are giving it a larky title, and making sure that everyone knows that your chest is going be taking the air from pretty early on.
The title was a give away that the programme was going to be cheap and nasty about a subject close to my heart (and implants). I’m delighted she’s “free” from the blight but what a shocking explotation of the women who were suffering and dying. Shame on you SkyOne for airing this tripe and inaccurate misleading tripe at that.
Just came across your post and have to say how wring you are. I have three family members fie if a mutation of the BRCA1 gene, 1 male, 3 female the youngest being 32. When it was found out that our family had the faulty gene, we were advised by a geneticist ON THE NHS I might add, our family was told we could all be screen, the age we could be screened was upto 5 years from the age of the youngest diagnosed. I’m screened every year, blood test every year, and offered a genetic test and consultation with a councilor. All on the NHS and fir every female member in my family line. And I know if at least 2 other friends in the same position. All receive this service. So instead of slating someone without the facts, why not try and look fir the facts to determine who dies and doesn’t receive this service, which is available on the NHS. Although I accept your point about the MRI, the only time I’ve had this was when a tumour was found, but this was explained in the programme that it wasn’t readily available to women.