If Cancer Patients Were Treated Like Addicts: Hard-Hitting PSAs Aim to 'Stop the Shame'

VML's poignant work for First Call

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What if family members treated cancer patients the same way they view people struggling with drug or alcohol addiction?

That’s the premise of a new campaign, “Stop the Shame,” from Kansas City-based alcohol and drug prevention and recovery organization First Call. VML worked with the nonprofit to create a series of powerful ads comparing addiction to different diseases, with one focused on cancer and another on Parkinson’s.

So why opt for such an intense way to get the message across?

“Frankly, it’s because people are dying and have been dying for a long time,” Susan Whitmore, president and CEO of First Call, said.

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