Television coverage to raise awareness

Some of our readers may have watched a series on Channel 4 last year entitled Embarrassing Diseases.  This covered subjects like testicular cancer, sexual health and like subjects.  The response from the medical profession was tremendous and there was a wonderful review in the British Medical Journal.  The company which produced the series, Maverick Television, received an award for the series from the Royal Television Society for the best educational documentary.  The subjects also had a real impact on viewers and helped a lot of people realise that they were not alone and that help in many forms is available to them.  This is a recurring theme in the work of Prostate Research Campaign UK so we would ask readers to look out for the follow up series - More Embarrassing Diseases, which will probably be shown shortly after Christmas in January 2001.

The thirty minute programme dealing with Prostate Diseases will draw the distinction between serious and benign disease.  It will follow three or four individuals over the course of several months to portray an idea of what it is really like to live with their 'embarrassing' illness.

This fly on the wall style of documentary which films people in their homes as they go about their daily lives and tracks them through any medical consultations, operations or treatments is notoriously difficult to make.  To help the individuals concerned to relax in front of the camera the company uses very small hand held digital cameras and a filming team of just one or two.  Nevertheless it will be quite a challenge for the TV company, since it is notoriously difficult to persuade men to talk openly about anything even vaguely embarrassing.