Provide names of other journalists involved.
Amy Levin-Epstein
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Jan-11
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Playwright Darci Picoult weaves an incredibly personal, revealing, and ultimately uplifting story about her diagnosis of vulvar cancer and subsequent major surgeries. The topic of vaginal and vulvar cancer is very rarely talked about in mass media, despite the fact that more than 7,000 women will likely be diagnosed with one of the diseases in 2012, according to the American Cancer Society. These cancers also appear to be on the rise, making it even more important to bring attention to this difficult topic right now.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
No FOI requests or special documents were necessary.
Explain types of human sources used.
Darci Picoult herself is the main character of the story, and she also quotes her daughters and husband. But a piece like this needed a doctor’s voice, too. We knew the readers would want to have actionable ways to keep themselves safe after reading her story, so we asked health journalist Amy Levin-Epstein to write a service sidebar with information on how to spot these gynecological cancers, and preventive measures they can take. Picoult’s doctor, David A. Fishman, M.D., is a top expert in this field as director of gynecologic oncology research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City–so we used him as the source.
Results:
Reader response to this story was overwhelmingly positive. We received a flood of letters from women–and even one man–thanking us, and the writer, for addressing this topic in such a public forum. In the words of Stephanie Jackson, a reader from Phoenix, Arizona: “Not too long ago, no one talked about breast cancer, but look how far we have come. It’s always inspiring to read the story of a survivor, especially one who survived a cancer that many don’t realize even exists.”
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
Readers wanted to know how Picoult was doing after her last surgery, so we asked her to write several updates, which we ran online at redbookmag.com.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Health editors can get stuck in a mindset that the only veteran health journalists can write a helpful, accurate, and deep-diving health pieces. But it’s important to keep in mind that it’s often the personal aspect of health stories that can impact readers the most.