By Suzanne Perry
The death of Peter Jennings, ABC's news anchor, from lung cancer and the announcement that the actress Dana Reeve also has the disease has put health charities in the spotlight -- and many of them hope that the news coverage will translate into better public understanding of what causes lung cancer as well as more research money and fewer smokers.
The American Cancer Society said it received a record number of callers -- 609 -- to its Quitline, a phone service that helps people quit smoking, on Thursday, up from 181 the previous Thursday, said David Sampson, a charity spokesman. Those calls were fueled in part by the number of times the Quitline was mentioned by the news media. Other groups also say they also have gotten many calls from reporters who want to know more about the disease.
The American Lung Association headquarters in New York received more than 100 calls from journalists asking about lung cancer this week, said Michelle Sawatka, a charity spokeswoman. "It's terrible that it has to come this way, but I think our relevance is more important than ever," she said. "We're hoping that [the media attention] brings people to the resources we have."
She said calls to the association about its "smoking-cessation" program and visits to its Web site jumped after news about the celebrities broke this week, although she did not have exact figures. More than 50 people have posted testimonials to Peter Jennings, many offering comments about lung cancer and smoking, on the group's Web site.
While Mr. Jennings was better known than Ms. Reeve, many reporters have also been struck by her announcement that she has the disease. Ms. Reeve, the widow of actor Christopher Reeve, has apparently never smoked.
"We've been very busy, predominantly with the press all doing stories on the non-smoking women angle," said Regina Vidaver, executive director of Women Against Lung Cancer, in Madison, Wis. Ms. Vidaver said the interviews gave her the chance to explain that lung cancer strikes nonsmokers too and that women are more likely to die of the disease than of breast or ovarian cancer.
Most of the charity officials said it was too soon to tell whether the attention to lung cancer will help them raise more money. "This is generally a time when people look to us for support," Mr. Sampson of the American Cancer Society said. "Whether it affects fund raising or not remains to be seen. It's not our primary interest at this point."
Laurie Fenton, president of the Lung Cancer Alliance, said the publicity could help with fund raising, but "we don't want to be exploitative." Ms. Fenton, who has been been interviewed by CBS News and other news media outlets about Mr. Jennings and Ms. Reeve, said the willingness of the two public figures to discuss their illnesses will help her group's mission by improving public awareness about lung cancer.
The alliance moved to Washington earlier this year from Vancouver, Wash., to be closer to the political establishment as it advocates for more research money and better patient care. It argues that lung cancer, with a five-year survival rate of only about 15 percent, attracts less research money than other kinds of cancer because it has few survivors who can become activists and because of the stigma attached to smokers.
Ms. Fenton said that in addition to news-media inquiries, her office has been fielding calls from people with the disease and those who take care of them -- about 40 a day, double the usual number. "We're trying to come up for air," she said.