title: Survivors on Cancer: the portrayal of survivors in print news.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study examines the types of news stories that include comments by everyday cancer survivors and the messages or information these individuals provide. Even though these non-celebrity survivors increasingly serve on the front lines of cancer prevention and advocacy efforts and often engage with media, the role they play in the media discourse on cancer has not been a focus of research.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a thematic content analysis of print news articles of non-celebrity cancer survivors in 15 leading national daily newspapers for four consecutive months starting in June 2005 to identify the issues or events that included a survivor perspective and the messages or information conveyed by the everyday survivors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Journalists included survivor commentary primarily when covering cancer fundraising events and when focusing on individual survivorship stories. In overall news coverage involving survivors, breast and prostate cancers received the greatest attention, followed by blood and lung cancers. Survivors spoke mainly about the diagnosis experience and life post-cancer. Our analysis of survivors' comments revealed that discussions of the diagnosis experience often convey fear and a lack of confidence in cancer screening practices, while cancer is portrayed as a positive life event.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While evidence of a positive and hopeful portrayal of survivorship is an encouraging finding for continued efforts to decrease stigma associated with a cancer diagnosis and for the public understanding of the disease, it is important to consider potential negative implications of an idealized and restricted media discourse on survivorship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increasing size and capacity of the survivor community offers opportunities for the cancer advocacy community to consider how news media portrayal of cancer and survivorship may contribute in both positive and potentially detrimental ways to public understanding of this disease, its survivors and life after cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205-1996, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Edsall
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Kromm
authors.forename: Katherine Clegg
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Rachel Friedman
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Singer
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D017741:Survivors; D014481:United States