The Downsides of Medical Reality TV Shows

By Bryan (Age 13, Hong Kong International School)

Editor's note: Read a response from a TV-executive who supports airing a reality TV show about cancer patients. 

Recently there has been a show that follows cancer patients' lives as they deal with physical and emotional pressures of the disease. It will follow several patients with different cancers and at varying stages of their illness. It is predicted that some patients will require surgery at some point during the show and some will die. I think that they should not air this show for many reasons.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

One reason why they should not air this show is because people may be uncomfortable with the situation they are in, for the entire camera crew will be always with them, talking to them and asking questions. I think that's the last thing that people with cancer want because I would want to spend my last remaining time with my family. Another reason why is because they will be constantly reminded of the situation they are in since the camera crew will pretty much track them everyday about their situation and sometimes the patients would want a break from that. People will get uncomfortable when people around them start bringing up the situation when they want to talk about or do something else other than the thought of cancer.

Another reason why is because it will cost a lot of money for the people who are making the TV show. If the cancer patient is poor or doesn't have enough money for chemotherapy, then the company will have to pay for that. To add on more, it has to deal with family situations and emotional problems. To top it off, they have to pay for all the people having to do everything for the TV series. The real reason for this reality TV show is to inform people about cancer, so why not save money and instead do something much simpler that can show how to prevent cancer or something like that?

Lastly, what if a person in the show dies? People in the show who have serious cancer are sure to die. In fact, this show is most likely going to look at some people who have serious forms of cancer (since it may develop more attention) and if they all die, who are they going to bring up next? They even said on the article that some people are going to die, so what if they die on screen? Is it going to be live? And if it is, what happens if they die while the live cameras are still rolling? Most likely even before the patient dies they will get fed up with this whole documentary thing because the patient can't spend a minute alone with his or her family.

I strongly advise to not air this show because a lot of bad things are going to happen both emotionally and physically, the cost is going to be too much, and people may die from the cancer on screen.