Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 10, 1993 TAG: 9310150345
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GAIL SHISTER KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``I'm angry that so many of us die, that we aren't further along and that we know so much more about other cancers,'' says Ellerbee, 49, who underwent a double mastectomy in February 1992.
``Although I am, by all tests, clear of cancer, I may die while they're looking for a cure.''
Ellerbee follows the experiences of two women with the disease in ``The Other Epidemic: What Every Woman Needs To Know About Breast Cancer,'' an ABC News special at 10 p.m. Tuesday on WSET (Channel 13). It's the first network broadcast by Ellerbee's Lucky Duck Productions, known for its work in cable.
Until recently, breast cancer hasn't had the research funding or media coverage afforded to a disease like AIDS, Ellerbee says, because women have been afraid to adopt the bold tactics of groups such as the mostly male ACT-UP.
``We're socialized to be good little girls. We tended to suffer alone, and quietly, when things weren't done. We still have that tendency. Then we looked at what gay men have done to get attention and said, `By God, we can do that, too.'''
Be clear that Ellerbee is ``not an advocate of taking money away from one disease to fight another. I do not believe in the notion of competing diseases. We don't want a bigger slice of the pie. We want a bigger pie. It's obscene to suggest otherwise.''
Although she accepts cancer as a part of her daily life, Ellerbee says she ``feels more alive than I have for years.'' She exercises daily, has dropped 50 pounds, and hasn't touched a cigarette in more than a year, down from three packs a day.
Unlike many others, Ellerbee was ``not the least bit shocked'' by the Aug. 15 cover of The New York Times Magazine, which featured model Matuschka, a breast-cancer survivor, nude from the waist up. Minus her right breast.
``My reaction was mitigated by the fact that that's what I see in the mirror every morning. The only thing I found remarkably odd was all the noise over it. When I bought the Times that day, I took it from a rack with 16 magazines featuring women's breasts.
``Why is it OK to show breasts but not OK to show their absence?''
Ellerbee says she first looked at her scars as soon as the bandages were removed, one week after surgery. ``After years of having those big breasts, my first reaction was, `I like this look.' I didn't like losing my breasts. Let's not kid about that.
``It's a terrible wound. And lopping off body parts to cure a disease is a lousy solution. I looked for the silver lining. I realized I would look a lot better in clothes.'' Eager to avoid more operations, Ellerbee has passed on reconstructive surgery thus far.
Despite her cancer, ``there's still a part of me that believes I'm going to live forever,'' Ellerbee says. ``I am not brave. I get up in the morning and put one foot in front of the other, and it looks brave. I've come to believe that's what bravery is.''
Garrick Utley on Wednesday was named ABC's chief foreign correspondent.
Utley, to be based in London, replaces Pierre Salinger, who retired in June. Utley, 53, a 30-year NBC vet, left the Peacock last month ``because I just felt it was time to turn a page,'' he said Wednesday. ``Fortunately, this page turned for me.''
Utley, NBC's chief foreign correspondent from 1982 to '87, most recently anchored NBC's weekend newscasts out of New York. Previously, he hosted the Washington-based ``Meet the Press.''
``This was not a difficult call,'' he says. ``International news coverage is what I do best and what I enjoy doing most. This is the strongest network covering the world. At NBC, things have obviously changed. It's no secret that there's been a big cutback in the overseas news operation over the last several years.''
Despite a major case of nerves, Chevy Chase beat all his late-night competitors on his Fox debut Tuesday.
``The Chevy Chase Show'' delivered a 6.9 rating and 16 percent audience share in Nielsen's 29 largest overnight markets. (He aired at 11 p.m. in 25 cities; at 10:30 p.m. in two and at midnight in two.)
On ABC, Ted Koppel's ``Nightline'' averaged a 6.3/17 between 11:35 p.m. and 12:05 a.m. David Letterman's ``Late Show'' had a 6.2/19 on CBS, Jay Leno's ``Tonight Show'' a 4.1/12 on NBC. Both air from 11:35 to 12:35. (Each overnight ratings point equals 476,572 homes.)
by CNB