The extraordinary case of the Guevedoces...

General Discussion Media & Awareness
#1

This BBC documentary has been generating press around the globe:

bbc.com/news/magazine-34290981

Note that in most all the coverage, the report includes a line like this:

“The observation that Guevedoces tended to have small prostates led to the development of a drug that has helped millions of men, the BBC reported. Roy Vagelos, head of research at Merc pharmaceuticals, created Finasteride, which blocks the action of 5-alpha-reductase and is used to treat the benign enlargement of the prostate and male pattern baldness.”

But virtually none of the press makes mention of PFS.

So please email as many of these reporters and fill them in on the horrors of finasteride:

Alanna Nunez
Cosmopolitan Blog
alannanunez@hearst.com
-Wrote this: cosmopolitan.com/health-fitn … uevedoces/

Lizzie Dearden
The Independent
lizzie.dearden@independent.co.uk
-Wrote this: independent.co.uk/life-style … rnalSearch

Justin Moyer
The Washington Post
justin.moyer@washpost.com
-Wrote this: washingtonpost.com/news/morn … into-boys/

Dana Dovey
Medical Daily
d.dovey@medicaldaily.com
-Wrote this: medicaldaily.com/guevedoces- … ing-353544

Lauren Scrudato
Associate Editor
Laboratory Equipment
laurenscrudato@gmail.com
-Wrote this: laboratoryequipment.com/news … ys-puberty

Siobhan McFadyen
The Mirror (UK)
siobhan@siobhanmcfadyen.com
-Wrote this: mirror.co.uk/news/world-news … ys-6483128

Peter Dockrill
Science Alert
editor@sciencealert.com
-Wrote this: sciencealert.com/in-a-remote … -into-boys

#2

Well, the writing-to-reporters campaign seems to be working.

The Examiner just ran an article titled “Is finasteride safe? PFS Foundation brings attention to finasteride side-effects.”

In it, reporter Tamara Coleman writes:

“Yesterday, we published a story about Guevedoces, children who grow up as girls but who are genetically boys without anyone knowing… A representative from the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation wrote in on Monday, Sept. 21 to make some comments on the article in regards to our mention of finasteride… The PFS Foundation representative pointed out in earnest that finasteride, more commonly known as Propecia or Proscar, has many potential dangers. ‘There are thousands of men around the globe, many of them in their 20s, and some as young as 14, who took finasteride and now suffer from what’s known as Post-Finasteride Syndrome (PFS), which is characterized by a host of side effects that may be permanent.’”

So thanks as always to our friends at the foundation for staying on top of all these issues.

And of course show your support for the Examiner by clicking on Tamara’s story:

examiner.com/article/is-fina … de-effects

While you’re at it, click on her link – in the story – to the Men’s Journal special report on PFS.

Whatcha gonna do, KCF, whatcha gonna do?

#3

And now a SECOND story in reaction to the Guevedoces documentary, this one in the International Business Times, titled:

“Post-Finaseride Syndrome Foundation funds 3 clinical studies on permanent side effects of prostate cancer, alopecia drug”

In is, reporter Vittorio Hernandez writes:

"By acting as a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, finasteride has several side effects which could be permanent such as loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, suicidal ideation and penile shrinkage. According to the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation, thousands of young men who took the medication are now suffering from post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) which was added in early 2015 by the National Institutes for Health to its Genetic and Rare Disease Information Center.

"Besides the physical symptoms, the men also suffer from economic hardship as some lost their jobs and emotional stress caused by broken marriages and relationships.

“Because of a number of studies that say finasteride has many side effects, the foundation funded three ongoing studies to gain a better understanding of how the drug – used also to treat male pattern baldness – causes permanent side effects. One study is being held at the Boston-based Brigham and Woman’s Hospital which is a Harvard Medical School Teaching affiliate, a second one is at the Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine and the third one at the Italy-based University of Milano.”

The full story here:

ibtimes.com.au/post-finaseri … ate-cancer

As always, please click on it to show your support.

#4

Great posting

#5

Here’s one more editor to email:

Kendra Kelley
RNN Digital Hub
kkelley@raycommedia.com
-Wrote this: cbs46.com/story/30092589/mal … til-age-12

If enough PFS patients email her and she does a followup story, it could get picked up in media outlets throughout the U.S. – like this:

google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=e … elley+RNN+