JulianVallejo
English2A
May2, 2016
Breastcancer is a tumor that affects the breast, and it begins in the innerlining of the milk ducts. A malevolent growth has the potential tospread to the other parts of the body. The one that begins in thelobules is referred to as the lobular carcinoma. While breast cancerthat starts from the ducts is known as the ductal carcinoma. Most ofthe cases of breast cancer are observed in the females. Some of themajor signs of breast cancer include dimpling of the skin, a changein the breast shape and a swollen lymph node (Stephens, et al. 2012). Both the cancers have the potential to cause adverse effectsboth to the patient and those people around them. Breast cancer is arising concern for all Americans across the United States but with alight knowledge and awareness, life could be saved. This is becausebreast cancer affects the breast cancer patient, family, friends, andsociety in various ways (Early Breast Cancer Trialists` CollaborativeGroup, 2015). This paper aims at discussing some of the methods ofmaking the public aware of the breast cancer and later elaborate onvarious ways that breast cancer might affect family, friends and thecommunity.
Awarenessof the Public Regarding Breast Cancer
Tobegin with, it is critical to note that breast cancer is responsiblefor 18 percent of the deaths in America. As a result of the highmortality rate associated with breast cancer, it is important forthat we find protective measures that can help us save more lives. Therefore, it is crucial to enlighten people regarding this threatfor us to save more lives.
Oneof the major ways of making the public aware is through televisionprograms and use of the social media. Through these, it is possibleto reach a large number of people and inform of the breast cancer andits effects. It is also evident that a large number of people in thiscentury use the social media. Therefore, using the social media pageson Facebook and Twitter is crucial for reaching a greater number ofindividuals and informing them about this cancer. Typically, the useof social media and television programs is crucial for informinglarger masses briefly about the breast cancer thus making the publicaware (Stephens, et al. 2012).
Itis also important to use the brochures and public forums to informpeople about breast cancer. In the brochures, some of the common waysof getting cancer can be listed. Also, a list of the preventivemeasures will be included, and another part will include some of themajor effects to the friends family and the society as a whole. Inthe public forums, those individuals that will show up will beeducated about breast cancer so that they will be well equipped toshare the information to other people of the society to avoid gettingbreast cancer.
Anotherappropriate way of approaching this is providing education to thepeople regarding the common causes and preventive measures of breastcancer. For instance, some of the major causes of breast cancer arecosmetics implants, genetics, radiation exposure, alcohol consumptionand obesity among others. It is crucial for the public to understandthis so that they can shun from the activities that can lead tobreast cancer so that they can reduce the chances of getting cancer.Knowing this causes also makes the public alert about any suspiciouscauses of cancer so that they can avoid them if possible. This helpsin educating the people on the major causes of the breast cancer thusenlightening them so that they can avoid them. Besides, suchsessions should involve the appropriate preventive measures so thatthe people can exercise them to avoid being victims of cancer(DeSantis, et al. 2014). Typically, the purpose of the education isto make the public aware of the impact that breast cancer has had inour community and help in protecting us from cancer too. Througheducation, the public will also understand the major effects ofbreast cancer so that they can get the need of preventing themselvesfrom this infection.
Waysin which breast cancer affects family, friends, and community
Thereare various reasons why we should take breast cancer seriously. Itis due to the negative impact associated with breast cancer to thepatients. For instance, breast cancer limits the freedom of thepatients as they cannot complete their duties normally. In addition,once a family has its member affected with breast cancer, they haveto spend much time caring the patient thus they will have little timeto work. This way, they will have to take much time with the patientwho will also affect their daily chores and other crucial activitiesthat they have to attend to which might, in turn, affect their income(Early Breast Cancer Trialists` Collaborative Group, 2015).
Additionally,breast cancer also affects the development of the society bydisturbing the relationship that existed among the members of thesociety. It is crucial to know that cancer affects the social life ofthe patients since they are not able to participate in the eventsthat they used to take part in. This implies that the role that theyused to play in the society is going to be void. Therefore, thesociety is likely to experience stunted growth for a while since thepatient cannot provide the services as they used to do it previously.Also, breast cancer affects the relationship of the patients withtheir friends and family thus, some of the members may be left lonely(Early Breast Cancer Trialists` Collaborative Group, 2015). Due tocancer, they will also have little time to spend with their friendsthus affecting their social life greatly.
Breastcancer also has adverse effects on the family since the patient’srelationship with other family members is greatly affected. Forinstance, if the parent is the affected individual, then they willhave very little time to interact with their children and partner. Insuch cases, the provision of basic needs to the children might bedeteriorated if the parent is greatly affected to the state that theycan’t complete their daily chores thus they cannot meet the needsof their families. In addition, due to breast cancer, there is apossibility that a void might be left within the family after thedeath of the diseased. It might be difficult for the other familymembers to adjust in such situations due to the strong relationshipthat existed previously. As a result of the frustration, the familymembers might be depressed to the extent that they will lose hopes inlife. The consequence of this is poverty in the society. It isevident that poverty has adverse effects to the community. Some ofthe effects include involvement in the negative behaviors such asdrug abuse and prostitution. Therefore, it is crucial to know sucheffects so that they can shun from any activities that might lead tobreast cancer.
Conclusion
Insummary, it is crucial that we should understand the potentialnegative effects and the ultimate likely death of the patient. Therefore, it is important for each to ignore from any activitiesthat is likely to lead to the development of breast cancer. This isbecause breast cancer not only affects the patient but also itaffects the family, friends, and community in terms of time wastageand expenses for the treatment of cancer. To avoid this, the publicshould be aware of some of the major causes of cancer and some of theappropriate preventive measure for them to avoid the tumor. Throughthe methods mentioned in the discussion above, it is possible to makethe public aware of the breast cancer, some of the major causes andthe appropriate preventive ways. In addition, it is important todemonstrate the effects of breast cancer so that the public canunderstand why it is crucial to prevent the disease.
References
DeSantis,C., Ma, J., Bryan, L., & Jemal, A. (2014). Breast cancerstatistics, 2013. CA:a cancer journal for clinicians, 64(1),52-62.
EarlyBreast Cancer Trialists` Collaborative Group. (2015). Aromataseinhibitors versus tamoxifen in early breast cancer: patient-levelmeta-analysis of the randomised trials. TheLancet, 386(10001),1341-1352.
Stephens,P. J., Tarpey, P. S., Davies, H., Van Loo, P., Greenman, C., Wedge,D. C., … & Yates, L. R. (2012). The landscape of cancer genesand mutational processes in breast cancer. Nature, 486(7403),400-404.