Just Say No to Cancer Screenings
By Kristen Philipkoski
Wired.com
02:00 AM May. 04, 2005 PT

According to the article celebrity health messages are working in getting the message out regarding heath screening. They cite a brief communication article in today's issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute which found that "more than half of adults surveyed by phone had seen or heard celebrity cancer-screening endorsements, and more than one-fourth said the appeals made them more likely to get screened."

Robin J. Larson, Steven Woloshin, Lisa M. Schwartz, and H. Gilbert WelchCelebrity Endorsements of Cancer Screening J Natl Cancer Inst 2005; 97: 693-695 (not free online)

The Wire.com article points out that researchers (Larson et. al) found that may not necessarily always be a good thing, citing possible overdiagnosis and false positives as some reasons.