Abstract

For my final project, I decided to cover the topic of breast cancer. Halfway through the project, I found it a little difficult to come up with ideas for blog entries. I contemplated switching topics a couple times but breast cancer is something that really hits home for me. Within the past two years, my mom has had two breast cancer scares when doctors have found two separate lumps in her breast. Fortunately, both masses were benign but I got to experience the emotional roller coaster first hand of what it was like to know someone so close to me go through the process.

 I included a couple of sources that share statistics and other facts about the disease. Then I had a little fun with talking about myself a little bit along with a couple of my favorite celebrities. I really enjoyed researching the hard facts as well as the softer side of the subject.

Sources

Blickley, Leigh. "Christina Applegate's Breast Cancer Battle Led To Her 'Total Emotional Collapse' After Double Mastectomy." Huffpost Celebrity (2012): n. pag. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/christina-applegate-breast-cancer-total-emotional-collapse_n_2006519.html>.

Dunn, Samantha. "Diary of a Mastectomy: Giuliana and Bill Rancic." Glamour (2012): n. pag. Web. <http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/2012/03/glamour-exclusive-interview-giuliana-rancic-bill-rancic-diary-of-a-mastectomy>.

Hong, Suzi, Wayne A. Bardwell, and Loki Natarajan. "Correlates of Physical Activity Level in Breast Cancer Survivors Participating in the Women's Health Eating and Living (WHEL) Study." Breast Cancer Research and Treatment (2006): n. pag. 21 Sept. 2006. Web. http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=2afb6cdd-4089-47d8-87b0-5362890d5c20%40sessionmgr4&vid=2&hid=28>.

"List of Cities in OH." Wikipedia (2012): n. pag. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Ohio>.

Simon, Michael S., Jeannette F. Korczak, and Cecilia L. Yee. "Breast Cancer Risk Estimates for Relatives of White and African American Women With Breast Cancer in the Women's Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study." Journal of Clinical Oncology (2006): n. pag. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/24/16/2498.full>.

From Here On Out

So, where do we go from here? The more breast cancer is talked about, the more it can be prevented. During the month of October when young ladies see a familiar celebrity wearing a pink ribbon or when a man sees his favorite football team wearing pink gloves and cleats, they instantly know what they're representing. When young women see that their favorite celebrities are talking about it or if the subject is all over the magazine covers and television, they will want to know more about it. Even if they go for a walk and see their neighbor wearing a Susan. G Komen 5K racing shirt or a stranger with an awareness bumper sticker. The more they see the signs, the more likely they will then take it upon themselves to go to routine mammograms and to watch for symptoms more regularly. Women can research family trees and look through their family health history to see just how at risk they are. The more research done, the better. You can never be too safe with your health.

[mscouponista.com]

Even if the word is spread to men, it doesn't go unnoticed. Men can talk to their mothers, aunts, sisters, girlfriends, wives, and daughters about this important issue. Imagine if more women performed routine check-ups on themselves, more women could know if they are at risk before they go to the doctor's and get a shocking result. They could know before it's too late. Learn the facts and you can save a life.

[lasisblog.com]

Celebrity Action

One awesome thing about being a celebrity is how influential you can be to others. This is great when it comes down to something serious like helping others in need. For example, when fashion icon Giuliana Rancic and her husband had fertility trouble, their doctor found out more bad news then they anticipated. Soon enough she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to go through radiation and a double mastectomy. However, Giuliana used her negative experience into a positive for the people around her. She used her high-powered voice to reach out to her viewers to spread awareness. Since she hosts E! News and stars in her very own show, she could really reach out to a lot of people. It's also a good thing that since she is so involved with the fashion world, her viewers and fans are mainly women. She preached to take the initiative and to be proactive towards the steps that are appropriate to look out for early symptoms.

[http://www.sheknows.com/]

Christina Applegate, an accomplished actress, also went through a double mastectomy after being diagnosed. She also used evil for good. Applegate used magazines and interviews to share her story with readers and fans. She shared her struggles and decisions to the public to help get awareness out whichever way she could. 

It's great to see celebrities that can bring positive headlines to the tabloids to help the general public. Publicity is not always a bad thing. If celebrities follow in Giuliana and Christina's footsteps it would make a huge impact in other's lives.

But Pink is One Color...

Back to the differences of white and African American women...

[http://jco.ascopubs.org]

"Overall, breast cancer is more common among white than African American women, except for women diagnosed at younger ages, although mortality rates are higher among African American women. These statistics highlight the importance of providing race-specific risk information to women at increased risk for breast cancer (Simon)."

This is one powerful statement and it took me a minute to soak in. 

The article also states that breast cancer behavior between white women and African American women is very similar until around age 49. As age increases, white women are more prone to develop the disease. Does this mean that African American women are more likely to show signs of this cancer at an earlier age? That is exactly what it means. African American women are at more of a risk than white women at an earlier age. The articles touches on a little bit on why this is. One reason is because women of color have a history of producing children at an earlier age than white women do. There may be more reasons involving cultural differences that lead to slight health variances.

As stated in the previous post; women that have had more than one immediate relative experience breast cancer, the chances of a white women also developing it are 25.2% while this percentage is only 16.5% for African American women. If there is only one immediate relative with breast cancer, the chances are 16.5% for white women and 11.6% for women of color (Simon). 

It's interesting to see the breakdown of statistics and how different they can be for just one disease. Pink is only one color. Even though there are many shades, it only has one meaning. During the month of October and all year long, awareness needs to be spread to all. Even though white women are more susceptible to breast cancer, women of all color are reached and affected. 

[columbiachronicle.com]

Break It Down

A study done by Michael Simon, Jeannette Korczak, and others states that there were 211,240 diagnoses of breast cancer and 40,410 women who didn't survive it in 2005 alone. Sometimes numbers seem more real when you compare them to something close to you. On that note, if you filled Ohio Stadium then doubled it, that's roughly how many women were told they had breast cancer in one year alone. If the entire city of Dublin, Ohio died, that's about how many women died in 2005, alone, from breast cancer (Simon). 

Simon and Korczak's article also mentions that the risk of someone developing breast cancer in their life is 12.6%. That's a very high percentage for such a life-threatening disease. Unfortunately, this percentage only goes up with family history of the disease. In fact, having more than one family member with breast cancer, the percentage of your own risk goes up to 25.2%. However, it's interesting to see that this percentage is only for white women. For African American women, this percentage is only 16.9% (Simon). More on these differences later...

The chances of a younger girl developing breast cancer compared to an older woman are in the younger girl's favor. However, younger girls have a good portion of their lives ahead of them. The study says that there are many factors to look into when wondering about your chances of developing such a disease. According to the study, "when counseling an unaffected woman regarding her future risk of breast cancer, the clinician should consider her family history as well as the fact that she has lived to her current age without developing breast cancer."This statement not only applies to breast cancer but many other diseases as well. It is helpful to use many resources and factors of your personal life when it comes to your health. This is why spreading awareness is so important for everybody, not just breast cancer potentials (Simon). 

I Hope You Dance...

For many years now, messages have been explained through various ways of communication other than language. Dance is one of them. Art can promote positive stories, emotions, or events. Sometimes it can bring out the beauty and the positives out of something that is generally seen as negative or unfavorable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=E1wr42lSuo8

This particular dance tells the story of a woman with breast cancer and her personal fight to beat it. Dancing with her is her partner who is there to help guide her along the way. This choreography is a beautiful way of sharing the struggles, fears, and hopefulness that someone experiencing breast cancer has to deal with. Also, the people surrounding the sick have to deal with those struggles, fears, and hopefulness as they deal with their very own. 

At the end of the video, a couple of the judge's say how millions of people will be affected by the dance. This is because millions of people have experienced the disease themselves or know somehow who has. It is amazing how one single illness can touch so many people directly or indirectly.

According to Suzi Hong and others in their article, "Correlates of physical activity level in breast cancer survivors participating in the Women's Health Eating and Living (WHEL) Study," physical activity is a sure way to help prevent illness, including breast cancer. She states, "studies have shown that regular physical activity is beneficial in relieving cancer-related symptoms and improving the [quality of life] of breast cancer patients and survivors." Exercising regularly improves your cardiovascular system, making it easier to do difficult tasks, and increases muscle strength. Also, endorphins are released throughout the body during and after working out, which boosts your mood. So dance not only shows a beautiful side to breast cancer, it also helps prevention and recovery (Hong). 

It's the Little Things

"What we call little things are merely the causes of great things; they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure which, generally speaking, decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of a gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution." 

--Henri Frederic Ameil

In the beginning of November, I participated in a crew race called Head of the Hooch. The race took place in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and every year it is the second largest regatta held in the country. Many schools nationwide attend and there are thousands of competitors that race every year in this particular regatta. As a crew team, we travel to several races every year, however, this race is my favorite to date. This year they dedicated five races to be titled "Row for the Cure" races and my race was the last one of the day. For these particular races, each competitor is given a pink t-shirt to race in. To stand at the finish line and watching countless boats racing towards the finish line in matching pink uniforms is breathtaking. To be part of one of these races is extraordinary. It's something small, but it is a truly amazing experience to be at the starting line of the race and to look behind you and see a sea of pink and then to look forward and see even more. 

[courtesy of: Jordan Nadar]

To coordinate that many people to stand behind such an important thing is genuinely inspiring. It may seem insignificant to get a few people to wear a t-shirt in a race but to me it's much more. The feeling is similar to being at a concert and everyone in the audience is singing along to the same song you're singing. That feeling of collaboration and unity is out of this world. 

Pink Month

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, it got me thinking about the disease. How many women does this particular cancer affect? How many families have to experience this deadly burden? How many women end up losing their life from breast cancer? I was floored to find out that breast cancer is actually the most "popular" cancer and for women, it causes the second most deaths originating with cancer. Also, it is a genetic illness. If someone in your family developed breast cancer, you are more likely to develop it yourself. Breast cancer isn't exactly something you want running in the family. No wonder we have a whole month devoted to the awareness of it. All October long, I saw people everywhere wearing pink clothing to promote research and understanding of the illness. On campus, I was handed countless fliers, pamphlets, and small gifts in order to get the word out about the reason behind the “awareness” month.

        

This October struck a chord in me that no other Breast Cancer Awareness Month has before. I have a totally different respect for the people who take so much time out of their day to try to get people to listen and understand, even if it's just a little bit. Even if everyone who is handed an information sheet just reads one sentence of what it says, it matters. It really makes a difference to spread the word as much as possible. The more support behind the expansion of knowledge of this disease, the closer we are to a cure. I know that the movement towards finding a cure doesn't just take place in October, it is happening all the time. Breast Cancer Awareness is twenty-four/seven. However, it is awesome to see how much more support and hard work is put into the fight each and every year. 

[megasportsnews.com]