Changing perceptions…

If you hear the name Jade Goody, a few words spring to mind: ignorant, racist, fame-hungry. However, the one word that will forever be synonymous with Jade is cancer.

Despite all of the press surrounding her throughout the years, Jade’s legacy will be her final public battle: her fight against cervical cancer.

Whatever you may think of the way she has handled her life in her last weeks, there is no doubt that she has brought this disease to the very forefront of the public’s consciousness, both in her own country and across the world.

Jade isn’t the only celebrity to heighten public awareness of certain diseases, though.

If I mention Patrick Swazye, Christina Applegate, Kylie Minogue or Lance Armstrong, you are probably just as likely to think of the various cancers they have suffered from as you are of their achievements in film, music and sport.

It is a sad reality that some people can come to be defined by obstacles that they have managed to conquer, or even worse, obstacles that they haven’t.

Celebrities are in a rare position - they can inform and educate people about issues that they otherwise might not have an opportunity or inclination to explore.

Some, like Jade, go out of their way to highlight the problem that they’re facing while others choose to remain out of the public eye while quietly coping. The fact remains though that, like it or not, their illnesses become hot topics.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. Everybody’s heard of the Betty Ford clinic, right? It’s been named dropped in various movies and was once the rehab centre du jour for stars facing drug addiction.

Well, Betty Ford was the wife of former US President Gerald Ford, and was moved to start the clinic after dealing with her own addictions.

These weren’t the only medical problems faced by Ford, however. She underwent a mastectomy to treat breast cancer shortly after her husband took office in the early seventies.

This was a time when this disease was something to be feared greatly, but never spoken about. Ford’s public discussion of her treatment led to increased awareness and understanding of the cancer and allowed women to talk about it openly, bringing about dramatic increases in detection of the disease.

It’s not just various types of cancer that celebrities have highlighted, and it isn’t just awareness that they have raised. Superman actor, Christopher Reeve, was a tireless campaigner for more research into the possible uses of embryonic stem cells, following a fall from his horse that left him paralysed.

Reeve testified to the US Senate to plead for federal grants for stem cell research and his involvement in lobbying government for more funds for the National Institutes of Health saw the budget more than double to $27 billion in just five years.

Michael J Fox is another actor who has continuously worked on the fight for stem cell research, this time to treat Parkinson’s disease, of which he is a long time sufferer of.

Stem cells could potentially be used to replace the defective or dying dopamine neurons which cause Parkinson’s, but restrictions on research have hampered the development of any treatment.

President Obama has just announced that federal funding will be provided for this research, overturning George Bush’s previous ban on grants.

While Fox is undoubtedly campaigning on behalf of his fellow Parkinson’s suffers, the argument could be made that he is a scared man who is desperate for a cure.

Why is it that his voice is the one that stands out from all the rest? Is it right that it takes celebrity involvement to further these causes, and are celebrities always right?

Actress Halle Berry created a storm of controversy in 2007 when she claimed to have cured herself of Type 1 diabetes. Berry said that by changing her diet and exercise regime, she was able to wean herself off insulin and would classify herself as being in the Type 2 category.

Doctors say that for a Type 1 diabetic to stop taking insulin would be “suicidal” and that Berry’s comments could prove to be dangerous for impressionable fans suffering from the same illness.

While Betty Ford merely encouraged women to visit their doctors and become breast-aware, her daughter Susan has taken it one step further and urges women over the age of 35 to have annual mammograms.

Ford doesn’t end her recommendations there - she has advocated that women over 40 should have these tests every six months.

Katie Couric, famous for being the first female primetime newscaster in the US, underwent a colonoscopy live on national television to highlight the disease after her husband died from it.

A colonoscopy involves the examination of the large colon and small bowel via a fibre optic camera in a tube that is passed through the anus.

Colonoscopies increased more than 20% after Couric’s exam and the average age of those having the test dropped significantly.

These could be very stressful (not to mention costly) routines to undertake and fly in the face of what most cancer specialists recommend.

There is a reason why certain screening tests are only recommended for certain sectors of society and at certain ages: the good chance that a false-positive result can occur, bringing with it heartache and confusion.

Motivation to raise awareness of certain diseases isn’t the only incentive that celebrities have to talk about these serious issues: that old chestnut, money, comes into the equation as well.

When stars appear on talk shows and enthusiastically endorse a product or treatment for some illness that has affected them or someone close to them, you could be forgiven for thinking that they are doing it out of the goodness of their own hearts and for the benefit of the community.

What would you think if you knew that they were being paid to give this recommendation, though? Would you take them at their word and say; ‘Well, I trust (insert actor/singer/footballer’s name here) and surely they wouldn’t promote this treatment unless it actually works?’

Take the case of comedian Bob Hope, who spoke on a national platform about the awkward topic of erectile dysfunction and gave a voice to those too ashamed to talk about it. Hope didn’t mention any particular drug that can be used to treat the problem but was paid to talk in the first place by Pfizer; the only company producing a cure.

What if you knew that a celebrity recommendation of drug therapy doesn’t require full disclosure of possible side-effects or dangers?

It is a win-win situation for drug companies; even though it can cost them large amounts of money, the promotion that they get from a celebrity endorsement is priceless and they can get around the legal requirements that traditional marketing entails.

There are so many illnesses that have stigma attached to them. While it is comforting for a woman suffering from postpartum depression to hear that Brooke Sheilds went through the same thing, or a fan of Geri Halliwell to see her happy and healthy after battling with bulimia, is it right that the way our awareness and understanding levels are raised is through their experiences?

And can we always trust their motivation for publicising them? After all, Jade Goody has freely admitted that her final goal is to raise as much money for her sons as she can before she dies.