Sunday Seven: Salute to seven TIME magazine issues
Posted Oct 29th 2006 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: All Cancers, Magazines, Survivor Spotlight
TIME magazine has faithfully followed the issues defining cancer. The topic has made the covers of many issues, and it receives plentiful press on the pages in between. Stories spotlight an array of different cancers, address research and new developments, and offer personal glimpses into the lives of both everyday survivors and those with celebrity status. A look into the
archives of TIME magazine -- seven specific issues -- illustrates a proven commitment to the cancer cause. And it proves the mystery of cancer is much the same today as it was many years ago.
- TIME's January 14, 1991 cover read, One American woman in ten will get breast cancer: Why -- and what can be done? How times have changed. Almost 16 years later and now one American woman in eight will get breast cancer. The question Why -- and what can be done? remains.
- On April 25, 1994, TIME released a cover that read, Hope in the war against cancer. An article reveals that scientists may have reached a turning point with new discoveries and better therapies. The turns are endless -- and while we have certainly reached breakthrough status in the 12 years since this cover first appeared, there are so many more corners to turn.
- May 19, 1998 saw the cover story How to tell the hype from the hope -- a special report topic that reminds us all to really consider every piece of information we gather on the topic of cancer. A 93 percent survival rate for a breast cancer patient with an early form of the disease might seem hopeful -- but this survival rate is for only five years. Not so hopeful.
- There is new ammunition in the war against cancer: These are the bullets. This cover hit newsstands on May 28, 2001 and referred to drugs that target cancer cells only and leave healthy cells untouched. Is this the breakthrough we've been waiting for? was published on this cover. Yes, I think it is. And the promise continues with more and more targeted therapies.
- On February 18, 2002, breast cancer graced the cover again -- fitting for a cancer that gets a lot of attention. The cover title The new thinking on breast cancer led into a story about the smartest drugs, the gentlest treatments, the latest on mammograms.
- A story in the June 21, 2004 issue titled Surviving Cancer addressed again the issue of targeted therapies and threw out there the possibility that cancer might just be a chronic condition that can be managed throughout life. More and more, this possibility seems possible.
- A new old therapy appeared in the January 9, 2006 magazine and revealed that injecting chemotherapy directly into the abdominal cavity can extend life expectancy by 16 months for terminal ovarian cancer patients. Ovarian cancer is often deadly due to a lack of adequate screening and late diagnoses -- so this revelation was quite remarkable.
Reflecting on past issues of TIME magazine is eye-opening. It reveals comprehensive coverage of a comprehensive disease. It shows just how far we've come in the war on cancer -- and just how far we have to go. A lot has changed over the years. And a lot has remained the same.
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