Most Americans say that cancer is one of the most feared diseases, and they fully support research that advances the march to a cure, recent marketing studies by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) show. But the studies also suggest that most people know little about what science has achieved, how research is done, or why certain projects are funded.
OUTREACH: NCI director Richard Klausner has won praise for defending the peer-review system to the public and politicians. Concerned about research racing ahead of scientific literacy, NCI has published Cancer Research: Because Lives Depend On It, a collection of six brochures, as part of a campaign aimed at increasing public understanding of medical research. The information package will be distributed to all researchers, physicians, and health professionals who request it. NCI also provides suggestions on how to distribute the material to patients, communicate with the media, and organize public education and ...
