Mike Kinnaird. The Cancer Content People Scroll Past — and Why That Has to Change.

…What are you doing?

What? What do you mean?

What on earth are making, recording…whatever it is…doing a podcast thingy on cancer for?  You’ve not had cancer. You haven’t a clue what you’re on about. So what’s the point?..’

Never has the word ‘what’ enjoyed such stardom in such a small space. 

Because, is my usual reply to the question. Because…

And that does very little to ease the furrowed brow of those asking the question, face-to-face or online. 

Because…(again) I don’t have cancer. Yet.

Let’s get that out of the way first. Not because it disqualifies me from speaking up, but because it highlights something that’s far too common in the cancer conversation: the quiet divide between people who’ve had cancer and those who haven’t. It’s a divide that’s reflected in how we react, how we listen—or don’t—and in how we scroll. And boy, do plenty of people scroll… (doesn’t affect me…)

People who’ve been through cancer already know the realities. They’ve lived them. But for the rest of us? It’s easier to keep our distance. We scroll past posts, campaigns, personal stories, all in the name of ‘not intruding’ or ‘protecting our own peace.’ 

Really? Nah…

Let’s be honest: often, it’s just avoidance. A discomfort with confronting something that feels like it belongs to someone else. And that avoidance is a big fat problem. For them. For you, me, everyone.  Not good.

Silence is Comfortable. And Dangerous.

Avoiding difficult topics is human. We all do it. I have, just being honest. I was a cancer scroller in the past. But when we avoid talking about cancer—when we skip the posts, mute the conversations, or only engage when it’s a friend or family member in the thick of it—we create a culture where cancer becomes an ‘if and when’ issue.

“If it happens to me, I’ll deal with it then.”

But here’s the reality: By the time you’re ‘ready’ to engage with cancer content, it might already be too late.

We talk a lot about early detection saving lives. But early detection doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens when people understand what signs to look for. When they know that certain symptoms aren’t ‘normal’ to ignore. When they see stories that look like their own.

And that can’t happen if awareness campaigns are constantly being scrolled past by the very people who need them.

Cancer Awareness Is Not a Sadness Contest

One of the reasons people shy away from cancer content is because they assume it’s going to be emotionally heavy. They picture inspirational quotes, tragic stories, or fundraising appeals that tug too hard at the heartstrings.

But cancer awareness is not a pity project.  Initially I didn’t want to cover personal stories on my podcast simply because I wanted to avoid all that. And I still do to an extent but there’s no escaping that ‘sad’ is there and experienced. 

It’s not about making people feel guilty or overwhelmed. It’s about information. It’s about culture. It’s about building a world where the system doesn’t fail patients before they even start treatment.

Take financial toxicity. It’s a term that doesn’t get half the attention it deserves. It’s the very real, very brutal experience of people being financially wrecked by their diagnosis. We’re not talking about luxuries being cut. We’re talking about patients selling their homes, choosing between heating and eating, or facing bankruptcy because they dared to survive.

‘But surely they’re the lucky ones if they have survived…’

Stop that now. Don’t go there. Leave it…

Or take the countless patients who are diagnosed too late because their symptoms didn’t fit the textbook — or the textbooks didn’t show what cancer looks like on Black or Brown skin. Ethnic communities are failed on an appalling scale.

These aren’t just personal tragedies. They’re systemic failures. And those failures are happening now to someone as you’re reading this.  But as long as these stories only circulate within cancer communities, the wider public stays oblivious. And that is where the problem festers.

It’s a problem I’ve had to chew over since I started #CancerCanDoOne podcast in July 2024. How to grab the non-cancer audience. And – being honest again – I still haven’t cracked that wide open.  As I’m told repeatedly – cancer is a hard sell.

It’s Not About You… Until It Is

One of the most dangerous myths we’ve built around cancer is that it’s something that happens to ‘other people.’ We’ve wrapped it in a layer of exceptionalism, as if cancer chooses certain families, certain lifestyles, certain types of people. One woman in the UK with breast cancer told me that growing up her mother used to say, ‘people like us don’t get cancer.’  She’s now making damn certain her own daughter has eyes wide open.

Cancer isn’t picky. You know that. It doesn’t care about your plans, your calendar, your to-do list. It doesn’t check if you’re ready to be involved in the conversation.

And when it does arrive, it’s too late to wish you’d paid attention earlier.

Engaging with cancer content isn’t about being morbid. It’s not about living in fear. It’s about being informed. About helping to create a culture where it’s normal to talk about financial toxicity, late diagnosis, systemic biases, and emotional support—not just once you’re in crisis, but before it happens.

Because culture shapes systems. And systems shape outcomes.

The System Is Broken—But Stories Can Fix It

Cancer patients are often told to ‘stay positive’ or ‘keep fighting’—as if their attitude alone can shift the odds. But while we love an inspirational patient story, we’re far less comfortable talking about the structural problems that put patients in impossible positions.

Healthcare systems that treat patients like numbers, not individuals. Support services that are so stretched, patients have to rely on Facebook groups for basic advice. Entire communities that don’t see themselves represented in public health campaigns, leading to dangerous misconceptions. Ethnic communities are endlessly dealt a very poor hand.  Inexcusable. 

But here’s where stories can change everything.

When we share stories that go beyond the sanitized, inspirational version of cancer, we expose the gaps. We shine a light on what needs fixing. But for those stories to have real impact, they need to be heard by people who aren’t already in the cancer club.

Every time someone outside the immediate cancer community engages with these stories, they help create pressure. Pressure that drives policy changes. That pushes for more inclusive awareness campaigns. That funds the services patients actually need.

Scrolling Past is Not Neutral

We’ve convinced ourselves that if we scroll past a cancer post quietly, it’s a neutral act. It’s not. Every scroll past is a missed opportunity to learn, to amplify, to contribute to a collective push for change. It should be about collective responsibility.

Awareness isn’t just about facts and figures. It’s about visibility. It’s about making sure the realities of cancer are seen, heard, and understood across society.

Because cancer isn’t a private battle. It’s a public health issue. And public health needs public participation. And it needs political will. 

The Awkward Questions About Research We Need to Stop Avoiding

There’s another uncomfortable side of the cancer conversation that rarely gets airtime. It’s the topic of research — specifically, the types of studies and treatments that don’t get funded because they don’t fit the mainstream narrative.

We’ve built a culture where ‘approved’ treatments and big-name studies dominate the conversation, while smaller, promising avenues of research struggle to get attention or resources. Alternative therapies, lifestyle interventions, repurposed drugs — these often fall into a funding no-man’s-land, not because they lack potential, but because they lack the commercial backing to push them through the system.

And when patients ask about these alternatives? They’re often met with polite dismissal or outright silence. The conversation becomes awkward, political, or shut down entirely.  In fact some of those discussions and direct experiences, as related to me, can be brutal and aggressive in that dismissal.

Why..?

But asking questions about treatment options, about the diversity of research, and about who benefits from the current system isn’t someone being difficult. It’s being responsible.

The reality is that not every patient fits neatly into the clinical trial criteria. Not every promising idea comes wrapped in a billion-dollar pharmaceutical package. Yet these are the conversations that rarely escape the echo chambers of patient forums and small advocacy groups.

If we want a future where patients are truly at the center of their care, we have to be willing to have these awkward conversations. To ask why certain research never gets past the proposal stage. To challenge why financial interests often dictate what’s considered ‘credible’ research.

Because progress doesn’t just come from new treatments. It comes from asking better questions.

You Don’t Need to Have Had Cancer to Make a Difference

One of the reasons I was asked to write this is precisely because I haven’t had cancer. Because the cancer community doesn’t need another echo chamber. It needs allies.

It needs people who are willing to listen, to learn, and to help shift the narrative in everyday spaces.

You don’t need to have had cancer to:

• Share a post that challenges a common myth.
• Speak up when someone downplays a symptom.
• Support organisations fighting for policy changes.
• Amplify voices that are often overlooked in the mainstream conversation.
• Ask the uncomfortable questions about funding, research diversity, and patient choice.

You just need to decide that it matters.

Cancer awareness isn’t just a once-a-year campaign, a pink ribbon and running in a banana costume. It’s a mindset shift. And it starts with what you choose to engage with today.

What Happens Next Is Up to All of Us

So, the next time you see a post about financial toxicity, late diagnosis, underfunded research, or a patient’s raw, unfiltered story—pause.

Don’t scroll past. Read it. Share it. Talk about it. Because the more we bring these conversations into the open, the harder it becomes for systems to stay broken.

Awareness isn’t charity. It’s my responsibility. 

And it’s time we stopped pretending it’s someone else’s. That’s why I choose to voluntarily produce the #CancerCanDoOne podcast as a team of one. And my conversations sit here.

#CancerCanDoOne podcast