UK HealthCare adds disclaimer to ad about climber who said UK cured her cancer | Opinion
University of Kentucky HealthCare will add a disclaimer statement to a recent advertisement about a climber who said she beat cancer with the help of UK doctors.
UK aired “I shouldn’t be here” around the Super Bowl. It showed dramatic footage of a climber ascending a cliff with a first-person voiceover that detailed her cancer treatment at UK.
In fact, the patient is played by professional climber Amity Warme, who has not been a cancer patient at UK. The ad was filmed in Tennessee.
When the ad airs around the Kentucky Derby, it will include wording that says the ad is a representative patient, and you can go to the UK site to read real patient stories about the kind of care they provide, said spokesman Jay Blanton.
He also issued the following statement:
“We are an institution that listens and learns. That’s what we have done in adding a brief clarifying statement in conjunction with the powerful branding campaign underway now with UK HealthCare. We’ve listened to many different opinions and stakeholders, learned and acted so as not to distract from the powerful stories we are telling about the impact of advanced medicine and healing found only at UK HealthCare.”
UK’s Markey Cancer Center is the state’s only National Cancer Institute Designated Cancer Center and treats thousands of patients from the state.
Several ethics experts told the Herald-Leader the ad skirted ethical lines because it played on vulnerable people without being transparent about using an actor. In addition, the voiceover said she was saved a “drug no one else had,” referring to clinical trials at the UK Markey Cancer Center.
Dr. Gillian Oakenfull, a marketing professor at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University of Ohio, said transparency in health care advertising is critical.
“Marketing should elevate clarity, truthfulness and respect for the patient journey—not stretch the truth in pursuit of a powerful message,” she said.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 10:18 AM.
