Looking at the big picture: Which types of cancers have a greater presence in national public service announcements (PSAs) over time?

Cancer is the second most prevalent cause of death in the United States, according to 2004 data from the CDC. Many different organizations sponsor public service announcements (PSAs) to raise awareness or promote behavior change, but this is the first study analyze across campaigns the picture of cancer prevention and control presented to the public in nationally televised PSAs. Using advertising data from an industry database, we examine amount and nature of cancer-related PSAs from 2001 to 2006. Results indicate that between 9800 and 15,000 cancer-related PSAs air each year, which corresponded to an estimated value of airtime of just under $76 million inflation-adjusted in 2001 rising to almost $176 million in 2006. The presentation will discuss the major types of cancers addressed by the PSAs and the relationship between presence in PSAs and cancer prevalence, mortality, and survival rates. We also analyze characteristics of the placement of cancer-related PSAs on TV, including the time of day, types of channels, and program genres on which they aired, as compared to PSAs on other topics and to commercial advertising.