For 1 French interviewed, cancer remains synonymous with conviction. And when it becomes metastatic, this figure increases to 90 %. However, science is progressing, treatments are changing, and living better and longer with the disease is more and more possible. Faced with this gap between social perception and medical reality, Pfizer is launching an unprecedented campaign based on a universal character: Sherlock Holmes. Objective ? Breaking taboos, opening the discussion, and restoring hope: you can project yourself into life with cancer.
A tenacious taboo, especially in men
According to an OpinionWay survey conducted for Pfizer, 84 % of the French questioned believe that male cancers remain taboo and are in denial. “”Male cancers are not very visible, and men, often unlikely to talk about their health, do not express their symptoms or their discomfort. This delays the diagnosis and isolates more“, Explains Karen Kraeuter, clinical psychologist and onco-psychologist. Another observation: only one French interviewed knows what metastatic cancer is, while it concerns thousands of people in France.
Between fear, silence and misconceptions
52 % of French people questioned still perceive cancer as a conviction. “” It’s an outdated idea“, Continues Karen Kraeuter.”Thanks to therapeutic progress and support care, many patients live with cancer, sometimes for many years. But to accept it, you still have to be informed, supported, accompanied.“However, two thirds of interviewed people still find it difficult to talk about cancer, whether in their personal or work. In addition, a large majority (90%) believe that metastatic cancers are too little addressed in the awareness campaigns1which can lead patients to feel excluded or sidelined from society.
Science advances, perception must follow
This need for information is essential to change looks. “” Cancer is a reality and tomorrow more: one in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lives2. It is time to open a new awareness phase, more human, more positive, more faithful to today’s realities“Underlines Dr. Luca Mollo, vice-president and medical director of Pfizer France. “Starting to recall that medical innovation today offers real perspectives to patients.” From targeted therapies to artificial intelligence, these innovations have profoundly transformed the fight against cancer. “Patient survival is improving, some metastatic cancers can today be considered chronic diseases “, Specifies Dr. Luca Mollo.”However, received ideas persist. This is why we wanted to talk about cancer otherwise. Make understand that the disease never defines a person’s life. “
Sherlock Holmes, investigator in front of the disease
To move the lines, Pfizer called on an emblematic figure: Sherlock Holmes. In a new new entitled The Ghost Laundry Battery Affairwritten from testimonies of patients from around the world and adapted by Thierry Saint-Joanis (Sherlock Holmes de France company), the famous detective finds himself confronted with this elusive enemy: cancer.
This story, available on pfizer.fr, highlights the psychological, social and cultural brakes linked to the disease. She questions our relationship to health, denial in the face of the announcement of a disease, and to the gaze that we carry – or not – on those who live with it. In this campaign, Sherlock Holmes becomes the mirror of thousands of patients who, every day, must deal with the disease while continuing their lives. “”The choice of Sherlock Holmes is not trivial ” explains Dr. Mollo. “As researchers, we are looking for solutions and taking risks, just like a detective. Research and development of a drug is a long and risky process but necessary to find the right treatment for each patient. For example, the success rate of our Pfizer molecules, from phase 1 to marketing, is 18% today; it has been multiplied by 10 between 2010 and 2022. Ambitious objective: to double the survival of cancer patients by 2040. “
Better support to better live with the disease
Faced with cancer, science is advancing but it is not enough. It also takes a benevolent environment, a company that listens and informs, which facilitates the return to the employment of sick people, who improves access to support care, and maintenance of social ties.
“ Between healing and death, there is a possible path: living fully, despite cancer“, consume Karen Kraeuter.And this path begins with a word, a look, an exchange. By daring to talk about it.“Because to change your eyes is already to change the life! Download the new story of Sherlock Holmes” The Blanchissery Fantôme “affair” on https://www.pfizer.fr/actualites/votre-sante/sherlock-holmes-laffaire-de-la-blanchisserie-fantome
