Cancer, the Media and Dealing with Knowledge.

Abstract

Among the primary function of the media are conveying personal understanding and expanding the subjective knowledge of the recipient citizen. A particular challenge arising during this process is the mediation of medical knowledge. In addition to pure factual knowledge, it often involves subjective experiences, hopes and wishes. One example of this is media reports about cancer therapies. As a result of widespread media coverage since 2017, the public is under the impression that methadone is a promising treatment for cancer. This chapter analyzes the part played by the media and the ethical debate. The ethical issues that arise concern good scientific practice, patient autonomy and the media coverage of methadone. We conclude that, according to the current state of research, the promotion of methadone as a cure for cancer is ethically unacceptable. In this case the media are not fulfilling their task of imparting knowledge, because they are not communicating the current state of research or the associated ethical questions.