To be sick and tired of the sight of tv Cancer ads???

[TillyMW]

I don’t mean to be dismissive of all the good work these cancer organisations undoubtedly do, but I am sick of the sight of the ubiquitous TV cancer ad!

I’m not sure if it’s just that they are more noticeable to me now I’ve been through the cancer treatment mill - 6 months of chemo and 2 ops followed by daily radiotherapy etc etc, but there seems to be no respite from cancer ads. Have they increased in number/frequency of airing, or is it really just me?

It is difficult enough to have some time free of thinking about cancer because of the anxiety such a diagnosis and the treatment itself causes, and because of the lingering ongoing pain, as well as the havoc it has wreaked on my body, but watching afternoon tv makes it all but impossible to get it out of my headspace.

I think I might be being just a bit extra ranty as my poor much loved dog was put to sleep yesterday and I’m feeling overwhelmingly sad with regular doses of fed upness with these damned ads.

OK, rant over (until the next ad anyway)!

Am I the only one who finds them depressing / irritating / too pervasive? Thanks in advance for your time.

Totally with you on this. Had cancer and weirdly I did gave moments when I "forgot" my plight...only fir somethingvon TV to stir it up and make my stomache drop yet again.

I agree with you - it's hard to escape and "cancer awareness" comes up so often that it's hard to gain respite from grief or anxiety that cancer has personally caused.

It's not as if people aren't aware of cancer or the fundraising cancer charities already, I just find it so tiring... but I get that I am being unreasonable!

I feel the same my DP died of cancer 3 year's ago, ad's just bring it all back.

for the sad loss of your dog

I agree. However, I'm prepared to be told that IABU.
I'm in the middle of cancer with no end in sight and I am so very fed up of it. It would be lovely to just forget about it for a while....

If I donate to a cancer charity, I would like the money to go on research or the frontline services they provide. Not a few seconds of a TV ad.

I hate that advert that keeps repeating 'cancer doesn't care about you' I know that all too well having recently lost my lovely brother to this horrible disease. I'm sure it raises the fear and anxiety levels in any one going through treatment and their families.

It seems to deliberately play on people's fears to try to get donations but it really makes me want to switch off instead. They should be far more subtle in their approach rather than raising anxiety levels in people who have enough to worry about already.

I always switch the sound off when the adverts come on anyway ...

But I have noticed a marked increase in Charity adverts. Occasional bit of afternoon viewing, it can even be the majority! The big charities are now big business.

I think the Cancer ones are particularly maudlin. E.g. "Cancer doesn't care about you" is a nonsensical and quite unpleasant catchphrase to get money out of people.

There's not much you can do I suppose - after all is a charity advert any worse than an advert for sofas. However, the charities themselves should at least be sensitive and monitor how they approach people for money - something some of them seem completely unable to do.

The means do not justify the ends.

If I donate to a cancer charity, I would like the money to go on research or the frontline services they provide. Not a few seconds of a TV ad

My academic background is cancer research. Our lab was funded by one of the big charities. I had undergrad and postgrad degrees, had to reapply for my individual job every two years, and the whole lab had to reapply every 5. No results, no funding. Didn’t help that the pay was shite too- ok it was 20 years ago but my starting salary was 14k, went up to 16k after two years. There was a definite feeling our work was seen in the same way as the race for lifers- doing it for a cause rather than personal reward.

In the end I left for the NHS where pay was better, hours were better, and I had job security.

So yes, these ads do piss me off as well. That money could fund a lab and several scientists, or give everyone a hefty pay rise. I hate the way they focus on raising more money, they never say what they are raising it for

I find them very depressing too
I worked as a trustee for a charity and the money that gets wasted behind the scenes did my head in

It must be awful to have it constantly reminding you if you are getting cancer treatment
I can’t stand dad and June and their fucking funeral plan
Yes I know I’m their target audience and no I’m not buying a plan
So between cancer ads and funeral ads on a bad day and there are plenty I just feel like throwing myself off the tipping point

I've had cancer and I find these ads very upsetting.

I also think the radio ones should be banned. So many people listen to the radio when driving, and there seemed to be some very hard-hitting ones when one of my close family members was going through cancer treatment. I had to pull over the first time I heard one particular one and after that had to lunge for the ‘off’ switch. It can’t be safe to have potentially upsetting adverts during drivetime radio.

Dowser
at Dad and June. I fucking hate her and her parsnips.
I enquired about funeral plans once (from a local director) and then got put on a national database which proceeded to tell me Every. Other. Day. that I really needed to make plans RIGHT NOW.
Tipping Point is strangely addictive....

Yes. And the life insurance ones.

I don't like them either. I lost my mother, brother and best friend to cancer in the past few years. I don't think they educate or elucidate about cancer, just go on about battles and fighting it. I find them upsetting and some of them are a bit sensationalist/graphic. But I feel the same about cancer story lines in soaps (which I no longer watch) when it is served up as titillating entertainment.
It is also horrible when you are watching tv with someone with terminal cancer and one of these ads comes on.

My bf list jos mum and both grandmothers to cancer. He cannot watch the adverts. He needs to mute the tv. Some of his fave shows are doing su2c celebrity versions and he has to change channels a lot to avoid the adverts.

I complained about one of the cancer ads a few months ago to the advertising standards thingy to no avail. Just an email back with some bollocks and then later email wanting me to rate their response. Complete waste of time!

The mother of a friend of mine worked in cancer research (not sure which organisation exactly, but think her role was hospital based). She once told my friend that they had more funding/money than they knew what to do with 🤷‍♀️
YANBU.

I agree, surely they should be spending money on research, studies etc.

Charity is big business now.

Well those were the words from someone who worked in that field (Scotland, if that's relevant).

Just looked on Cancer Research now, and their donations / income for 2017/18 was £634 million.

There's one on at the minute where a man is being filmed having the news broken to him that he has cancer

I suppose it had the desired affect as I was shocked and tearful, but really?

Maybe we should all start bombarding these charities on their social media accounts. They’ve got it really wrong with these ads I think. Not happy with bombarding us every few steps on the high street, they’re now bombarding us during our moments of escapism on screen. Same with the Water Aid ones etc etc