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Raising Awareness in HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer

Raising Awareness in HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer

Hong Yuan Hsin Sept 17, 2013

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Raising Awareness in HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer

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Human papillomavirus (HPV) positive oropharyngeal cancer is a disease in which tissue of the middle part of the throat undergoes a malignant transformation as induced by the virus. The CDC reports increasing incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer in healthy young male over the last twenty years. Recently, actor Michael Douglass publically announced his diagnosis and brought this issue to light. Therefore, the increasing incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer is the current event and the CBS News article, written by reporter Ryan Jaslow, is the risk communication article that provides the public with precautionary advocacy. HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer is an unfamiliar disease with the public. Over 40 kinds of human papillomavirus (HPV) can be transmitted sexually and infect the skin and mucous membrane. Oropharyngeal cancer has variable prognosis and implications depending on the stage at discovery, type of virus infecting the cells, and social factors, such as smoking and drinking (Oropharyngeal Cancer, n.d.). While the prevalence is steadily increasing, data from the Mount Sinai suggest that it is easily treated, as patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer have a disease-free survival rate of 85-90 percent over five years (Human HPV FAQ, n.d.). Even still, HPV-positive throat cancer can remain asymptomatic through the progression of the disease, and until metastasis. Without regular screening, the cellular changes remain uncaught. Since the public are unfamiliar with the disease, and consequence of untreated throat cancer can end up being as serious as metastasis (Haddad, n.d.). Since HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer is relatively unfamiliar to the general public, and the disease has been increasing for years at a steady rate, and the implications of getting the cancer is serious, this type of risk would be categorized as high hazard and low outrage in risk communication. According to Peter Sandman the task for this type of risk is “precaution advocacy,” which serves to alert people to serious the serious risk (Sandman, 2012). The article that was examined is a popular news article by CBSNEWS entitled “Oral Sex and Throat Cancer: Michael Douglas HPV Report Spotlights „Epidemic‟,” by reporter Ryan Jaslow (Jaslow, 2013). This web article featured communication channels of article format, commentaries for readers, and a video from the news. The background is that actor Michael Douglas was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2010 and underwent interviews suggesting that his throat cancer might have been caused by HPV contact through oral sex. The key message of this article was to increase awareness for HPV caused throat cancer. This article highlighted what HPV throat cancer could do for your life, but also offered preventable action. The key audiences of this articles primarily targets men. The spokesperson for the article is actor Michael Douglass. This excellent piece of risk communication article uses the salacious nature of the material captures the attention of the reader and then delivers several fundamental components of a precautionary advocacy risk communication. HPV-positive oropharygneal cancer has been increasing in incidence over years; however, the article was able to hit sever points of precautionary advocacy communication with the help of having Michael Douglass as an unconventional “spokesperson” in several ways. Catching the attention of apathetic people remains a

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challenge in risk communication with low outrage types of risk. The salacious nature of the subject of oral sex, sexually transmitted disease, and a celebrity helps to resolve the issue of reader apathy as the mass population typically enjoys gossiping about celebrity and scandals. Even for the people who do not care for Michael Douglass or enjoy the tabloid, having a concrete example of a human being getting stage IV oropharyngeal cancer, serves to bring awareness to the issue and that this indeed does happen in real life. Lastly, the article was relatively short, so reader would be captivated to read to the end of the article. This article also did a good job appealing to the emotions and fear of the readers. Using Michael Douglass helped. Michael Douglass is a glamorous celebrity; and many people aspire to be like him. Towards the end of the article, it also addressed any outrage, trust issues, and fears of the audience. An authoritative figure from a reputable healthcare organizations “Dr. Mumtaz Khan, a head and neck cancer surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio,” assures the audience by announcing that “surgeries today are minimally invasive and often performed by robotic instruments, so quality of life is improved for these patients compared to years past,” and that "That's the biggest advantage we have now in controlling these cancers." The readers are told in a non-threatening fashion to not fear the disease. Last but not least, this article delivered a call to action. The audiences are encouraged to recognize the signs of throat cancer, get screened early when suspicious symptoms arise, and practice safer sex. The article used statistic and risk comparison between cervical cancer and throat cancer to provide context to the epidemiology of the disease. The article quoted the 2014 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer and the National Cancer Institute that “about 13,000 new cases of oropharyngeal in both men and women linked to HPV in 2009” in the last year of available data, and that “more than 10,500 of which were in men,” and “more than 60 percent of oropharyngeal cancers are caused by HPV.” In addition, the article stated that“…HPV-related throat cancers are now more common in men than cervical cancer -- which is caused by the same virus -- in women.” This risk comparison was effectively used, since people are more familiar with cervical cancer. This use of statistic helped to provide context to the risk of getting HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer. Overall, this article hit fundamentals in precautionary advocacy. It was short and captivated the attention of readers and appealed to the emotions of the reader with Michael Douglass as the spokes person. It provided context to the disease, so the readers can be more familiar with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer as compared to more familiar types of cancer. Lastly, it provided call to action for the readers to recognize the signs of the disease, get more screening, and encouraged the young to receive the vaccine.

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References:

Haddad, Robert. I. (n.d) Discussion and Future Directions. Human Papillomavirus Infection and Oropharyngeal Cancer. Retrieved from http://oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/pdf/hpv_Infection.pdf Human HPV and Throat/Oral Cancer Frequently Asked Questions (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.mountsinai.org/patient-care/service-areas/ent/areas-ofcare/head-and-neck-cancer/throat-cancer/hpv-faq Jaslow, Ryan. (2013, June 3). Oral sex and throat cancer: Michael Douglas HPV report spotlights "epidemic." CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57587350/oralsex-and-throat-cancer-michael-douglas-hpv-report-spotlights-epidemic/ Oropharyngeal Cancer. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2013 from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oropharyngeal_cancer Sandman, Peter. M. (2012). Components of Outrage. Responding to Community Outrage (Chapter 2). Retrieved from http://www.psandman.com/media/RespondingtoCommunityOutrage.pdf

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