A PCOS Stunt?
If you’ll refer back to one of my earlier posts, in which I questioned what it would take to get the “PCOS issue” noticed like, say, breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, or prostate cancer, you’ll better understand the path I’ll be going down on this post.
I’ve been plowing through David Meerman Scott’s “The New Rules of Marketing and Public Relations,” and while I was clearing off my desk in my office at work, was looking at a Feb. 2007 copy of “PR Tactics” in which an ad for a book called “Can We Do That? Outrageous PR Students That Work — and Why Your Company Needs Them” c came across my field of attention. I’ve actually been thinking about PCOS in these terms for a little while, and I’ve finally decided it’s time to explore this.
In Scott’s book, he discusses the successful nature of anything viral marketing. He actually points out that it takes something rather pointed, rather off-the-wall, to get any kind of viral “buzz” (I hate that word) going. Even in a recent issue of Entrepreneur Magazine, the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” author discussed that boring PR gets you nowhere. Something has to grasp the attention of those you want to reach.
So is this what it’s going to take to get people to stand up and take notice about PCOS? And what exactly should that be? I’ve been wracking my brain thinking about this of-late, and I’m not coming up with any ideas. Is it going to take a women with PCOS showing parts of her daily routine…the inevitable shaving or waxing of hair that occurs, the patches of dark-pigmented skin that she fights, the weigh-in as evidence of her weight struggle, being told by her doctor that she’s, for all intents and purposes, infertile…to get anyone to take notice?
I think back to the breast cancer issue. What comes to mind? The first thing that popped into my head was “Wit,” first a broadway play and then a movie staring Emma Thompson, which was actually about a woman dealing with terminal ovarian cancer (why I connected this with breast cancer, I’m not sure). I think about the Komen Foundation, started in honor of the wife of a then-famous actor. I think about a recent issue of “Beyond Breast Cancer,” on the cover of which is a picture of football player Brent Farve and his wife, who recently fought and won a struggle against breast cancer. I think about Kylie Minogue and Sheryl Crow. But yet not one celebrity is or has been willing to come forward and say “hey, I have PCOS, and the world needs to know about this disorder.” What does that leave us?
Stephanielou
February 20th, 2008 at 12:52 pm #
This is very true and has been a complaint of mine for such a long time. Ironically, I have found several reports that claim Emma Thompson has PCOS (just an interesting tidbit). There are many high profile people that have PCOS, some that will admit it, but not take a stance against it.
Maybe it’s because PCOS is not considered a terminal illness and does not produce the huge sympathy ratings because we don’t have a death toll. Maybe, it’s because women consider their girl parts and menstruation to be such a private thing that it is harder for celebrities to jump up and say “Yeah, I have PCOS–I haven’t had a period in a year.” Maybe it’s easier for women like you and I to stand up and advertise the fact that we have this awful disease because we are virtually unknown and hide behind the annonimity of the internet. I know that it took me several years to finally tell friends and family as I was embarassed by talking about my ovaries in mixed company (I’m not anymore, but that’s not my point.)
I hope things change, and soon. Perhaps some high profile person out there will eventually reach the same level that I have after years of dealing with the disease and realize that shouting from the roof tops is the only way that we will ever get the message out.
Perhaps PCOS is not as deadly as breast cancer. But it’s just as devestating, if not more so, than–say–Erectile dysfunction. ED has network advertisements during PRIME time. Ask a stranger on the street what PCOS is and they will shrug their shoulders, ask them what ED is and they will be glad to tell you.
Stacey
April 24th, 2008 at 5:24 am #
Interesting thought. I think Victoria Beckham might even have PCOS, but she is too high class to admit to that.
I think a lot of the diseases of the world are still trying to be understood. For example, 10 years ago, Autism was a strange occurance and labeled “Rain Man”. Yes the movie brought light to it, and before that it was probably a rare topic, but nothing really informative. People were thinking, since my son isn’t freaking out over Sear’s underwear, then he does not have Autism. Now with more research, they see that like 1/400 children have autism. It is a spectrum.
The same research needs to be done on PCOS. They can’t even tell you if PCOS causes weight gain or if weight gain causes PCOS. There is still that fear that it is a side effect of us being lazy slobs who do nothing but sit on the couch eating chips and this is our own doing. But I am a firm believer that it is not our weight but the PCOS that is the issue. Regardless of whether we are fat, skinny, obese, or thin as a rail, it is still a health issue that we are suffering from.
You are right, if maybe more “icons” came out saying they had it, maybe the stigma that only “fat” people get it will be erased. It’s just that even the medical community can not exactly say what causes PCOS or how to “fix” it, they only still have theories, but in time, they will find it.