Maegan Bennett
A small town girl with BIG dreams.
According to Journal of Women’s Health, self-detection is a key method of breast cancer detection. In 2003 the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted a survey that included 361 women survivors of breast cancer. They asked a simple question: “How was your breast cancer found?” The answers they received varied, but the results of the survey showed that majority of women survivors detected the breast cancer themselves. In 2008, Max Healthcare released an ad that encourages us to pay more attention to our breast. This ad clearly targets women but not only older women, it also includes younger women and teens like myself. Even though it is rare for younger girls to develop breast cancer, it is still important for us to use methods of early detection as well. One reason for us to practice self-breast exams is because younger girls diagnosed with breast cancer often have a more aggressive type of cancer, which leads to a lower chance of survival. This is why it is so important for us to do self-breast exams monthly, like suggested by the National Breast Cancer Foundation. After asking several students on campus: “Do you know how to perform a self-breast exam?”, it came to my attention that many of us do not know how to check ourselves. This is an alarming fact that could be changed just by teaching five simple steps. This ad about breast cancer stresses the importance of self-breast examinations, and how doing so can help lead to a higher chance of survival. The Max Healthcare ad about breast cancer does a great job of appealing to a women’s desire to act by giving them a choice. In Thank you for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs, the author says that arguments boil down to three things: blame, value, or choice. The choice offered in this ad would be to do self-breast examinations or not. According to the survey performed in 2003, many of us choose to do so. By giving the women a choice, it allows the them to make their own decision. Jay Heinrichs tells us that when are arguing about a choice we are using deliberative argument. Deliberative agreement promises a payoff. Even though the ad by Max Healthcare allows us to make our own choice about self-breast examinations, it still inputs their opinion at the same time by trying to persuade us to practice self-breast examinations. They use the power of a choice to solve the problem to both the audiences and their own advantage. This ad uses the advice of Heinrichs to persuade their audience with a choice, which according to him this is the best and most effective way. By providing statistics within the ad, it shows that women doing self-breast examination have a higher chance of survival than those who do not, which persuades us to participate in doing self-breast examinations. It also provides a number to call for more details, giving us the opportunity to do something right away.
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Women in the U.S. have a "1 in 8” (or about 12 percent) lifetime risk of getting breast cancer. This means that for every 8 women in the U.S. who live to be age 85, one will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. For that to be a fairly low percentage, it feels like breast cancer is becoming more common nowadays. I bet that the majority of you know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. If you are one of those people then you know how heart breaking it is for someone to be told that they have breast cancer. Being diagnosed with cancer can completely turn your life around, but thankfully we have organizations like Susan G. Komen to help. The Susan G. Komen organization began in 1982, because of a promise made by the founder, Nancy G. Brinker, to her dying sister, Susan. She promised that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. When it started off all they had was $200 dollars and a shoebox full of potential donor’s names. Since then, Susan G. Komen has funded more than $889 million in research, more than $1.95 billion in medical care, community and provider education, and psychosocial support, serving millions in over 60 countries worldwide. Susan G. Komen is now the world’s largest nonprofit source of funding for fighting breast cancer. Survivor Kathryn Becker says, “I feel that it is through Komen’s commitment to research that I am still here today, that treatments are becoming more tolerable and that we now know that not all breast cancer cells are alike.” Many women, like Kathryn, are survivors of breast cancer because of the research Susan G. Komen provides. With the continuation on of their research more and more women are now able to say that they are survivors of breast cancer.
I chose to blog about this because it is something that really touches home with me. In 2004, my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 58 years old when she was diagnosed. Breast cancer is definitely not something that you expect to happen, so it took a hard turn on my family’s life. The doctors told us that she had stage two breast cancer and that they wanted to start treatment as soon as possible. It was a long process, but throughout her journey the Susan G. Komen organization was a huge help. They offered us great assistance and support the entire time. The support they offered to our family was unbelievable. They also provided us with a lot of resources to help us learn more about her diagnosis, so that we could understand what the doctors were telling us. Thanks to all of the help offered by the Susan G. Komen organization, not only my grandmother but also many other women are now survivors of breast cancer. The Susan G. Komen organization is widely known for its “Race for the Cure” 5K road race. This month this event will be taking place in Macon, GA at Mercer University. The race will be on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 9 in the morning. You can sign up online or donate money to help reach the goal of $80,000.00. All ages and fitness levels are welcomed. You can make a difference as you run by helping raise money for the fight against breast cancer. Do your part in finding the cure for this life-threatening disease by signing up today! Let’s help run breast cancer out of town! |
AuthorI am a student at Georgia Southern University. I love the outdoors, and my favorite flower is a sunflower. Archives
November 2016
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