An essay by Jan Hoffman in the New York Times about celebrities (like Patrick Swayze, Ted Kennedy, at left … ) who must cope with illness in the public eye. Everybody has to act optimistic — but is that a good thing?

Whether such images inspire patients, or reinforce unrealistic expectations that they, too, should maintain a game face, remains an open question, say doctors, social workers, family members and patients themselves.

… Rachel M. Schneider, a clinical social worker at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, said that while many patients are inspired by celebrities, others feel guilty for not being as upbeat as the celebrities appear, and angry that the gravity of the disease may be misrepresented. By being constantly reminded that they should keep their chin up, patients implicitly believe that emotional wobbliness will adversely affect their outcome.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 1st, 2008 at 11:26 am and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, cancer, celebrities, commentary, public attitudes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post