Being quoted at length in the 102-year-old publication with its authoritative coverage of celebrities, politicians, the entertainment industry and pop culture can do that to most people.
However, the practising colorectal surgeon and University of Otago (Christchurch) colorectal surgery lecturer and research professor is not letting it go to his head.
He was one of a handful of the world’s top cancer researchers interviewed in the article, which aimed to find out why cancer — historically a disease of old age — is increasingly striking people in the prime of their lives.
"The incidence is increasing in certain cancers in those under 50 — especially colorectal cancer," Prof Frizelle said.
"Why is that and what is being done to find out? That was what the article was about.
"The reporter had researched the literature on the topic of early onset colorectal cancer, and came across my name and [the research] we had published.
"She noted we were one of the first groups to identify this as an issue and write on it."
The award-winning surgeon said he was not interested in whether the article made him "famous, or infamous".
"I’m just delighted that the work that is being done at the University of Otago is being recognised as important on the world stage."
In the Time article, many scientists pointed to modern diets, which tend to be heavy on potentially carcinogenic products — including ultra-processed foods, red meat, alcohol and prescription drugs.
And some theorised damage may even start in the womb.
Prof Frizelle said he believed microplastics might be contributing to early-onset cancer.
"Avoiding them is all but impossible in a world where water supplies are tainted and babies suckle on plastic bottles from their earliest days on Earth."
He said human genes had not changed, so the cause had to be environmental.
"It is a cohort effect, so it must be something that has changed since 1960.
"It’s likely something that is associated with earlier exposure, as sporadic bowel cancer — the most common type — has a complex aetiology.
"It involves diet, the gut microbiome and mucus."
Prof Frizelle is recognised internationally as an authority on diseases of the colon and rectum. He has received several honorary fellowships from learned societies in Europe and North America, as well as being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his work.
He has been chair of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons section of colon and rectal surgery, chair of the Post Fellowship Training Programme in Colorectal Surgery for Australia and New Zealand, chair of the New Zealand Ministry of Health’s Colorectal Cancer Standards, chair of the New Zealand Guidelines Group for colorectal cancer management guidelines, and has published more than 500 research papers.
