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.

Brilliant post scoobyd2

yolo Thank you for posting a link, I was going to ask you for it. My mum died of brain cancer so I would be interested in donating to your charity. Keep up the good work

I’ve worked in the research department of a large teaching hospital for 12 years and never seen a trial for the cancer that killed my dad. Sadly I feel we are not 5 years away from beating cancer.

Op

Can you get off TV and watch amazon prime and Netflix for a while ? NO adverts

I don’t notice but am not in as deep as
You are

Get rid of TV and get Netflix and Prime for the same price as your tv licence.
Stop listening to shitty commercial radio.
Stop being advertised to.

We got shut years ago. Best thing we ever did. Normal TV now is utter bloody shite. Theres 2 good shows on a week that you can get on demand and normally Ad free from another service.

Must admit I’ve not read the whole thread. My children loved watching celebrity bake off but kept missing bits by mistake as they both rushed to fast forward the real life cancer stories. DH died of cancer 2 years ago when they were 5 and 7. Friends and I have raised £40k for brain tumour research so far and counting.

No one has the monopoly on cancer pain

Are not the stats now 1 in 2 get it ?

However for some people it’s a far deeper pain as they are right now suffering it , or nursing a loved one. And I completely respect where OP is coming from .

But no one can shout at people about it, and claim their opinion is more valid . as it’s such a universal thing . I do have a monthly DD . It’s one of my selfish charities as one day I will likely need their support

It’s interesting that their marketing is so disliked . Has the message filtered through , or are the adverts so effective they have decided to run them regardless ?

I might read the annual report of the one o
Donate to actually and then make a judgement

CRUK use a disproportionate number of children in their adverts compared to the amount of funding directed towards childhood cancer which behaves differently to adult cancers. This, alongside their ads makes me not want to donate. There are other, smaller,charities who manage to advertise in a way that catches me but not in a riled up way.

It's the thoughtlesness of the campaigns.

Brave the shave caused a lot of upset
"Two is better than one" us another slogan being run atm by m&s and simplybe for breast cancer.

I am so fucking angry as I'm 33 and recently under went a mastectomy and then wham "two is better than one" really?!?!?are you fucking kidding me?

Me too I've terrible heath anxiety about getting cancer and when one of these comes on I really go into panic, I know they need funding but I just wish we didn't have to see them daily

You can’t get away from it anywhere, settling down to watch my favourite soaps and both have women in them with cancer, no doubt to “raise awareness” I’m bloody “aware” of cancer thanks very much, would like not to have it shoved down my throat every time I switch on the tv, I want a bit of escapism not realism, and yes agree with every poster here the adverts are awful I switch the tv off soon as they come on.

strawberry said these ads might make the difference between having terminal cancer and a cure
It’s on page 2 so strawberry you can’t back track.. You are an utter disgrace. If you do work for a cancer charity you are in the wrong job!
However I’m so happy there’s going’s to be a cure for cancer in the next 5 years..yippee
What the fuck is wrong with some people

StrawberryPancakes

Your previous claim that you have “empathy” with those dealing with cancer diagnosis? No, you really don’t.

I genuinely apologise if anyone was really that offended by my difference of opinion

Ah, the classic non-apologetic I’m sorry “if” you found yourself offended by something I said apology. Don’t think “if” is really in question, is it? Maybe try politics instead?

I think strawberry’s attitude demonstrates what so many feel offensive about these ads.

It’s that idea that these big charities don’t give a fuck about the suffering, physical or mental, about the actual patients and relatives supposedly at the core of their research.

They don’t care if they upset anyone, they have some number crunchers telling them these ads raise money. End of.

Then they have the gall to tell these suffering patients that they shouldn’t be offended or upset because the money is the most important thing, and don’t worry, it’s all for your own good!

It does seem to me too they aren’t listening. They are doing what they’ve always done. I do wonder if they did change their ad strategy it might be even more effective- but they are determined to keep to the “emotional blackmail” aspect...

It’s also the impression I get irl, having met a lot of these people.

I absolutely hate them. The ones that really make me angry are the bell ringing ones. I understand that those getting over treatment and want to celebrate but do those patients who aren’t getting better hearing the bell?

blue I’m nodding to everything you say in your last post.

I think it must be similar to being in my line of work (police) as I get quite hard hearted and can’t let work get me or I would be a gibbering wreck.

And Strawberry’s attitude is very similar to the attitude I found from the local hospice staff when my mum was ill. It was just another person with cancer to them with no empathy towards her or us and for many reasons my dad, sister and I will never donate to them again despite them being hailed as a local hero organisation. And we aren’t alone in that.

Completely agree bluebluezoo - i’m reminded of a thread there was a while back discussing experiences of the family of people who had left charities money in their wills. There were some truly heartbreaking stories of charities behaving appallingly and ruthlessly. The ambition of “getting the most money for the charity” overtook everything, even the need to be a decent human being.

CEO Cancer Research £240,000 Harpal Kumar

CEO Macmillan Cancer Support £170,0OO Ciarán Devane

With staff like strawberry, I'm not surprised the ads are so tone deaf

I think it's an incredibly difficult subject all round.

Yes, if you are affected, have been affected, are going through it, the ads are horrible and very upsetting (been there, done that, wearing the t-shirt for DH at the moment).

But the big cancer charities must have done the number crunching - in fact I know they do, because they quote the figures - 'we spend £1 to raise £4'. I guess part of the question is, where is the money they raise coming from? Because you and me sending a tenner is not what makes the difference - the difference is the big grants from major donors/philanthropic funds/gala dinners where you can swing your big dick in front of your smaller dicked mates, etc.

I think, from my own experience with Charlotte's BAG, that the 'little people' (ie most of us!) get really pissed off knowing that if they give £1 sometimes as little as 50p of that goes to the cause - but you have to dig really deep to find that information sometimes, and most of us don't bother to do that.

We have been recipients of some major donations, but half of our money comes from the usual - cake sales, sponsored walks, collection tins etc etc, from the goodwill of individuals basically.

I don't think causing distress to anyone affected is a good way to go about things - it's much more productive to talk about what CAN be done rather than emphasise what can't/hasn't.

schuyler I think it was upthread, made the point about the investment that big pharma make - very good point, people have a tendency to knock big pharma, but they spend megabucks on research that very often goes nowhere.

nicknacky thank you for your kind words, and I'm sorry about your mum. As well as Charlotte I lost a very dear friend to glio just over a year ago. It's a bastard.

I have been traumatised by one of the latest ads - the ones where people are talking to consultants. I spent yesterday evening in tears reliving my own diagnosis inside my head and was unable to shift the images. I'm 3 years from that now but it brought it all back.

Not one penny more from me. Cunts.

I was told by Strawberry that I should put up with the hurt and distress caused by the adverts because those charities have helped me.

Well in my case nothing could be further from the truth. I can tell you that if you have a rare cancer like me, they don’t want to know. They have no interest or information and do not contribute to any research.

I found some information myself and I asked them to put a link on their website but they refused point blank. They aren’t interested in helping individuals who are ill, they are just interested in promoting their own charity.

I’ve lost my mum and then recently my cat to cancer, both went from being fine to dead within a month. I hate the adverts, they just remind me how scary it is to actually be alive and how fast life can be taken from us.

People always think it’s awful when I tell them I don’t donate to charity but it’s honestly because of these god awful emotionally triggering adverts and then the very forceful street volunteers. I bet so little money is actually given to the cause. People should donate to labs, hospice services and the cause instead of these charities that use these awful sales triggers.

I’m sorry for what you’re going through op.

I’m very, very sorry to read that Hazlenutpie, their attitude just stinks.

(Please forgive me broadening out slightly but I feel most charities are guilty of this sort of emotional blackmail, not just cancer research fundraisers. Years ago, my traumatised mum, still healing after the final battering that forced her to leave my dad, almost financially destitute and wondering how the hell she was going to hang on to our home and raise two still quite young kids opened the door to caller from a disability charity, pushing a severely disabled person in a wheelchair. This kindly volunteer, of the selfless type Strawberry was no doubt referring to, who give you their time and work their arses off for all of our sakes, proceeded to lecture my mother (with visible bruising) on whatever she had experienced, she would never suffer as much as his charge after mum explained she couldn’t afford to donate. I was around 10, I think, but still remember it vividly because she cried for hours afterwards.

I am certain no such thing would be allowed now (well I hope it wouldn’t).
Yes, Strawberry and people you work with, actively fundraise but for god’s sake do it with some sensitivity and compassion for the people you’re targeting.