HRE #11: Cancer Society and Social Support

The focus of this student project was on cancer - the research of it, but more importantly, the cultural implications of cancer. How much of our lifestyle impacts the cause of cancer and what type of medical and social support exists. Below are highlighted excerpts from this project:

"The top three cancers for men are prostate, lung, and colon cancer. The top three cancers for women include breast, lung and colon cancer. Eighty percent of all cancer is caused by your lifestyle or environment some factors include: Sun Exposure, Tobacco, Alcohol, Unhealthy Diet, and you should all take a health education class to further inform you on this topic. By changing theses five things, you can live a longer and healthier life. Phytochemicals also play a role in cancer. Phytochemicals are found in fruits and vegetables, they can stop the shaping of the cancerous tumors and can stop cancer from starting. Some examples of phytochemicals would be PEITC which keeps carcinogenes from binding to DNA, you can get this from broccoli. There are also flavonoids that are found in most fruits and vegetables and it helps cancer causing hormones from locking onto the cells. Phytochemicals are also found in green tea."

"Lung cancer is the [a] type of cancer that is found both in men and women. Some risk factors for lung cancer include: gender, somking status, type of smoking, number of cigarettes per day, type of cigarette, duration of smoking and type of industrial work. Males have a higher risk of getting lung cancer. The chance of getting lung cancer will increase with age. People who smoke cigarettes have twenty times the chance of getting lung cancer than from those that don’t smoke. Cigarette smokers have a higher chance of getting lung cancer than those who smoke a pipe or cigar and people who smoke a pipe or cigar have a greater chance of getting lung cancer than those who don’t smoke. If a man smokes less than half a pack per day he has five times greater risk than those who don’t smoke. If a man smokes one or two packs per day then he has fifteen times higher chance of getting lung cancer. If he smokes more than two packs per day this chances went up to twenty times higher than a non smoker. Exposure to materials that industries use can also cause lung cancer. For example if you are exposed to arsenic, radiation or air pollution, it can also cause lung cancer. To help prevent lung cancer, don’t smoke and stay away from people who do. If you do smoke, it’s never too early to quit. Some warning signs include coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, weight loss, bloody sputum, loss of appetite, and wheezing. If you some and have most of there symptoms, call your doctor right away."

Below is an excerpt of this student's personal frustrations with loved ones who exhibit unhealthy behaviors linked to cancer. I think we can all identify with her concerns because we all have people we care about that we wished lived healthier lives.
"[He] has smoked cigarettes since he was sixteen years old, which means that he has been smoking for thirty-one years. He smokes about forty cigarettes per day. He has also been a very heavy drinker for about twenty-five years. He would normally drink about a twelve pack of beer per day. And as I have mentioned before, the combination of these two increase the chance of getting cancer of the mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, lung and liver and remember that the combination of drinking and smoking can cause cancer to develop fifteen-fold. For years I have tried to talk to him, he would get angry and say I don’t want to hear this. I would still randomly read him articles, show him pictures, and tell him information about how he can quit and that the whole family would help him."

"[She} is only twenty three years old and has been smoking for about seven years now... I have tried to talk to her many times and I have even showed her pictures of what could happen to her but all she does is get really angry, and then goes out side and smokes.... [She] smokes about ten cigarettes per day. Nothing will get through to her, not even the fact that she has a four year old son. Im so scared that she is going to get cancer, and I don’t want to lose [her] from something that could have been prevented. And in twenty years I don’t want her to never meet her grandchildren because of cancer. I hope that scientist come up with something to make smokers quit without missing it afterwards."

Powerful. Emotional.

For the expedition portion of this project, this student was asked to attend events that supported treatment of cancer. One of the events she participated in was the "Race for the Cure" Here's a brief highlight of her reflection:
"Overall, It was an emotional walk, but everyone walked with their head held high and keeping faith that one day breast cancer will never kill another mother, daughter, aunt, grandmother, lover or friend again. I’m so glad that my mama and I could experience what the walk was really about. I do plan to go again next year and I also would like to do the three day race as well."

Below is her Public Service Announcement on cancer: