Why are rugby players heroes and not scientists?

In the midst of this season of prime for the Mccaws, Carters, Nonus and Wilkinsons (Tindalls not so much), I thought I’d share this blog post from the Ripple Effect, which questions the unsung heroism of science. I love this, as well as the very insightful comment below which asks:

Would more scientists be heroes in our society if they could communicate their love for their work in a lively way (brimming with wonder, curiosity and excitement)—connecting with people on an emotional level?

I wonder if the scientists at CERN who think they may have uncovered evidence for the faster-than-light neutrinos will turn out to be our heroes of the day? That’s now for the science community to scrutinise and decide. I think the way that scientists build on the foundations of the work of their predecessors but are still willing to adjust their views based on what's observed, is admirably humble and pretty heroic – just in a different way to that of rugby players. It has the potential to make a great story for people to engage with on an emotional level. This discovery could one day change our understanding of the universe and the way in which things work. Epic stuff.

***Public health announcement***

What would you do if you had bleeding from the bottom?

What would you do if you noticed a change in your toilet habits and started needing to strain more than usual or were looser for several weeks at a time?

Who would you tell? Anyone?

What if it were your partner, your Mum, your Dad, your grandparents? Would they share with you details of any abnormal goings-on in their gluteous maximus region? With their doctor? With anyone?

Why are bottoms so hard for people to talk about?

Claire is a 29-year old New Zealander with advanced bowel cancer. It has now spread to her lymph nodes and to her liver. She writes a powerful blog here.

Claire's story is one of 2,800+ stories every year in New Zealand.

Bowel cancer kills 100 people here every month – that's more than breast and prostate cancer combined and 3 times the number of people who sadly die in accidents on our roads.

Although it is more common in people over 50, it is not 'an old person's disease'. Over the past 20 years, the number of bowel cancer cases in people between 20 to 34 has risen 64%.

The good news is that when bowel cancer is caught early, the chances of survival are very good – much better in fact than with many other cancers. It is simply a matter of surgically removing the cancer cells from the bowel. But many people don't know they have cancer until it is too late. They don't recognise the symptoms.

A year or two before her diagnosis, Claire went to see her doctor about a suspicious looking mole thanks to a successful  public health campaign. Because she was proactive and sensible about her health, the mole was removed in good time. But until now, there have been no awareness campaigns in New Zealand about bowel cancer, which is probably why it kills more than 4 times as many people as melanoma, even though the two types have similar incidence rates. Despite experiencing the textbook symptoms for bowel cancer, Claire didn't let her doctor know about them.

Irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerances, stress - we assume all these things before we assume bowel cancer. A fundamental lack of awareness. We just don't know what we don't know. And we don't know what to do or how to talk about it to find out more from those who might know and be able to help.

This week is New Zealand's first ever Bowel Cancer Awareness Week, with a number of events going on throughout the country (it's also Bowel Cancer Awareness Week in Australia, although not the first). The Kiwi  campaign is all being organised by Beat Bowel Cancer Aotearoa – an awesome national charity committed to reducing the impact of bowel cancer on our community. One of their priorities is to increase awareness of the disease and its symptoms. They have developed a Call to Action for the New Zealand community and all levels of government, which sets out 10 key calls that they ask to see achieved before 2015.

If you'd like to help Beat Bowel Cancer Aotearoa, you could start by sponsoring (and motivating) me to run the Auckland marathon on their behalf :-) http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/RachaelRandal/.
(apologies for the blatant plug)

However, the most important thing you can do is to act in the way that is most natural to us as humans in every other aspect of life. Talk, share and connect with your friends and whanau.

• Don't be embarrassed to tell your partner or another family member if you notice something odd going on with your bottom – its just another part of your body. 
• In turn, encourage them to be vigilant for symptoms. 
• If you or your loved one notice any symptoms at all, go straight to the GP and discuss the possible need for a colonoscopy.
• If they are over 50 and don't have symptoms, encourage them to get (or buy on their behalf) a screening test kit from over the counter at the pharmacy. The test can easily be done at home and then sent away in the post. Both the individual and their GP are directly informed of the result.

***End of Message***

がんばれ, Japan and Christchurch! The role of communications in post-disaster recovery

With the tragic earthquake in Christchurch still preying on our minds and now as we watch with despair as the horrific events in Japan continue to unfold, blogging about anything else would feel decidedly odd and insignificant – our hearts are full for the people from these two special lands.

For me, these tragedies feel particularly close to home. I lived and worked in Japan for three years between 2002 and 2005 and met my husband there. I had the pleasure and privilege of getting to know and befriending so many beautiful Nihonjin and my soul is filled with such deep deep sorrow for what they are going through. Now, in my current adopted country, although far away in Auckland from any of the danger in Canterbury, the pain and suffering felt by our fellow Kiwis has struck and scarred the nation.

Amidst the news of devastation and destruction, there is more and more talk of the future, recovery, bounce-back and opportunities on the horizon. In particular, I watch with interest the place that communications will take in that process. Disaster communications is by no means my niche, but as I see it, the fundamental core principles of communications apply:

1. Make communications an integral part of the entire response and recovery process from the outset. Lessons learned show that too much communication is better than too little. Silence breeds rumours that can be exploited and can lead to misunderstandings, lowering community trust and participation levels. The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co are already being criticized for not communicating in a timely and open manner about the possible risks to the general public from the dangerously overheated nuclear reactors in Fukushima, causing widespread confusion, distrust and panic.
2. Adopt a two-way communications dialogue, giving voice and dignity to the communities affected, rather than purely one-way information dissemination. Communications should be less about public relations that simply tries to create images and impressions within people’s minds, but more about enlisting communities to cooperate and actively participate in rebuilding their own lives. Social media is already playing a huge part in this. Google’s Crisis Response page, Facebook and Twitter have all been able to offer ways to help Japan’s survivors to link up with friends and family, as well as resources to find information of use on the ground.
3. Monitoring and evaluation should be ongoing with constant feedback channels that include quantitative and qualitative indicators, including whether the attitudes, perceptions and fears of the communities at stake have been successfully addressed in the campaign. The communications strategy should be a living, breathing work in progress. Messaging, audiences and tools will need to be adapted as feedback is received, results are analysed and timely corrective amendments are implemented at grass roots level.

Perhaps the most crucial step, however – before even beginning to design the communications strategy – is to gain an understanding of people’s knowledge, perceptions, fears and expectations and the cultural and social context within which they live. For insiders these factors are a ‘given’, but for outsiders they are often impossible to identify and comprehend without conducting a full and comprehensive communications needs assessment. This knowledge can be used to improve the design of the recovery and rehabilitation process, tailor communications and broaden the impact and sustainability of interventions. Without it, problems and conflicts will arise.

In Christchurch, for example, business owners are anxious that their concerns are not being listened to with regard to the demolition of buildings before they have the chance to retrieve belongings that are their livelihoods.

In Japan, it may be that, rather than bricks and mortar, the most important thing to salvage and preserve is community life via an organic approach to the rebuilding of neighbourhoods, as was the case after World War II. Instead of replacing the biggest and best buildings first, shacks made of wood were erected and then over time upgraded if that became affordable.  

Whatever the findings from the needs assessments and the resultant communication action plans that are devised, I have great hope. I usually do not like generalisations based on anecdotes, but in this case I will do just that. What I know of Japanese people and of Kiwis gives me faith that both Japan and Christchuch will rise again: their leaning towards cooperation and collaboration, their readiness to give all to whatever they do, their compassion for others and their endurance.

In the words of Emperor Hirohito following the catastrophes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ‘We have resolved to endure the unendurable and suffer what is unsufferable’. And so they did and so they will do so again.