Reporting of new cancer trials – sentimental and empty?

Why do articles such as this one in The Observer about experimental cancer medicines make me so angry? I’m not against reporting on new trials and developments – the public ought to be kept informed of such things. But there’s something about this piece and much health reporting in the mainstream media that makes me squirm. For instance:

But among the many sufferers with terminal cancer, 782 men and women have that most precious commodity – hope. Conventional NHS cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy have failed them. They have nothing left to try. So they have volunteered to take part in clinical trials of unlicensed, experimental cancer drugs. With luck, these novel treatments may extend their lives.

Sentimental, trite, cliched. Is this what Observer readers want to read?

Never mind the style, what about the content? Take this paragraph:

The brave, unacknowledged efforts of these 782 patients have already helped scientists produce new drugs that work in cancers that were previously hard to treat, allowing people to extend their lives and spend a few more months or even years with their loved ones.

Great, but what are these drugs called? How effective are they? How harmful and expensive are they? The whole point of medical research is to be scientific, so why are the public subjected to such vagueness?

Finally, here’s my vote for ‘paragraph most in need of the editor’s pen’ of the week:

Tests in laboratories, usually involving mice or rats, yield only so much knowledge. Sooner or later real patients are needed to help translate research into, hopefully, new drugs – a process scientists call ‘from bench to bedside’. These trials in experimental drugs are vital in that. ‘We need human beings to take risks,’ said Newell. Experiments to ascertain the right dosage, for example, may involve suffering along the way. Ethically, only patients who have exhausted all other options are allowed to take part in these trials, although others exist for patients still being treated on the NHS.