RECORD NUMBER OF CALLS TO
BOWEL CANCER CHARITY INFOLINE AS LEADING SOAP OPERA TACKLES
DISEASE
Viewers of ITV1’s Emmerdale have flooded Colon Cancer
Concern’s (CCC) telephone Infoline with requests for
more information about bowel cancer following the revelation
last week that Woolpack landlady Diane
Blackstock has the
disease. CCC is the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity.
CCC’s confidential telephone information
service, which is run by experienced colorectal nurses,
received over
100 calls in two-and-a-half hours when the storyline was
first broadcast on 19th August: more than ten times the usual
figure for that time period.
The CCC Infoline number, email address and
website have all been featured during the credits of the
prime-time soap,
so that worried viewers can contact an experienced nurse
with their concerns. Callers, who are of all ages and from
across the country, are each answered by a member of the
CCC specialist nurse team – with many expressing personal
concerns or requesting a CCC information pack in the post.
One typical caller from Edinburgh praised
CCC’s Infoline
service, saying: “My father has suspected bowel cancer
and I didn't know where to turn. But then I saw your contact
details following Emmerdale. It’s great to have someone
to talk to."
Since the first broadcast, the charity has
received over 600 calls and emails (already twice the number
of inquiries
it would normally receive a month) - a figure that is set
to rise as the story continues over the coming weeks. Emmerdale has over 10 million viewers in the UK and the programme is
aired six nights a week in the primetime early evening slot.
CCC had extended its Infoline service to deal with the surge
in demand.
The makers of Emmerdale have been working
closely with CCC’s nurses and patients to make sure that the script is as accurate,
realistic and sensitively handled as possible: a first for
primetime TV in the UK and an approach that has been warmly
welcomed by the charity.
Jola Gore-Booth, CCC’s Chief Executive, says: “We
are delighted that Emmerdale has decided to work with CCC
to tackle the taboo subject of bowel cancer, and do so in
such a responsible and high profile way.
“The fact that our Infoline has received a massive
1,000 per-cent increase in calls since the programme came
on air, shows just how much demand there is for information
about this misunderstood and neglected disease: demand that
is set to continue as Diane’s story unfolds.
THE CCC INFOLINE: 08708 50 60 50
Based on a Press Release by "CCC" Dated:
1 September 2004 |