Imagine yourself in a dark room all alone as the fear makes your body tremble and you are looking for a way out. You find a wall that guides you to a door reaching to safety. Now if the dark room were in your body eating away slowly at your internal organs like battery acid eating away a plastic cup. Imagine as it grows larger in mass eating away the internal flesh which weakens you from your healthy life. This is what cancer can do to the many that are affected and searching for a positive solution.
I begin to look back and think of someone who was very dear to me; she is the nicest person you could of have known. Her smile and positive outlook on anything was remarkable for the eyes to see. This person was diagnosed with lung cancer and it became very aggressive and spreading throughout her body. On a very cold morning she needed to go for treatment, I agreed to take her. We entered the clinic cheerfully greeted by the receptionist and then shortly taken to the treatment area. As we entered the room I became very uncomfortable.
The aroma in the room made me feel sick to my stomach and my mouth became very dry. I began to look around the room at others. I could see the paleness in their skin color, the groaning of one in horrified pain. I looked into their eyes and see confusion as if they were staring off into another world. You could sense the fear among them while they sit thinking quietly to themselves as if the world ended. People need to learn about lung cancer one of the leading causes of death in the United States. What must we know about lung cancer? First of all we need to define it to help us understand it.
According to Tabers’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, “Cancer is a malignant neoplasia marked by the uncontrolled growth of cells, often the invasion of healthy tissues throughout the body”. By this definition we can understand that something causes the uncontrolled growth of these cells that takes over healthy tissues. Many people die from lung cancer each year. Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary states, “Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U. S after cardiovascular diseases. In 2006 the American Cancer Society reported that 564,830 Americans died of cancer.
The most common cancers in the U. S. are lung, breast, colon, prostate, and skin. Usually, as cancer cells proliferate they become increasingly abnormal and require more of the body’s metabolic output for their growth and development”. We need to educate ourselves about this disease, it is very important to understand lung cancer because of the high death rate each year. What about science and the understanding of this disease? According to Science in the Early Twentieth Century, “For centuries cancer was part of a pantheon of deadly ailments that threated human lives” .
So who is affected by this disease? The numbers are large for men and women. Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary states, the approximated new cases of lung cancer among men are 114,690 and 100,330 among women. The deaths among men are 90,810 and 71,030 among women, . Stadiums of people could be filled with those numbers and we still do not have a solution. According to Drug Week newsletter, “Lung cancer is the number one killer in the United States: 160,000 people will die from lung cancer, more than breast, prostate, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers combined” .
You can now begin to sense that we do have a growing problem and that we have to find cures and solutions in fighting this deadly disease. Science technology is very important in the search for a cure. The cause of this horrific disease is a mystery for many. Looking back into American history you will find that our nation during the industrial movement had many very powerful corporations. Industries such as iron miles, coal mines, and tobacco companies making profits on the goods they produced. The twenty first century has numerous contributors such as chemicals, pollution, shipyards, factories, and some foods we eat.
According to Science in the Early Twentieth Century, “Although the exact cause of cancer eluded scientists, there were some obvious contributors. Many of these were connected to the alleged benefits of science and technology. Certainly the pollution of industrial cities contributed. The most serious widespread cause of cancer was tobacco smoke; because smoking was addictive and had a powerful corporate lobby behind it” . We all need to be cautious of our surroundings and the environment. We need to educate ourselves on the effects of this horrific disease and find ways to protect all human life.
The symptoms are warning signs that something is wrong. According to Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, “Symptoms of widespread cancer include pain, malnutrition, weakness, fatigue, bone fractures, and stroke like syndromes. Early warning signs of cancer may be remembered by the mnemonic CAUTION: Change in bowel or bladder habit; bleeding or discharge. A sore that does not heal; Unusual bleeding or discharge; Thickening or mass in the breast or other body parts; indigestion or difficulty in swallowing; Obvious change in a wart or a mole; Nagging cough or hoarseness” .
Here’s that same person we discussed earlier who was a smoker since her late teens and at the age of 65 she became very weak. She had a nagging cough and discovered a lump on one of her breasts; she went to the doctor to see what it was and discovered she had cancer. Yes it was in her breast but it did not start there. It started in her lung. This cancer became very aggressive throughout her body. She became very weak, her appetite gone, horrifying pain. Her will to fight was depleted and soon after her diagnosis she was gone. From the moment she learned she had cancer until the time of her death it was only two months.
It is very hard seeing someone die from this kind of disease. The symptoms telling your body there is something wrong. Think of it as a time bomb set to explode at any minute. When our car is not running like it should, we go and get it checked out. When warning signs in our body tells us there is something wrong we need to seek medical attention. Yes, it is hard to believe that there will be many who will have this disease we call lung cancer. This wonderful woman deserved a chance to live so that she could be there for her grandchildren. My mother and her fight against all the odds will always be something no one can forget.
Could you picture yourself in a dark room scared and looking for an exit? Now imagine just for a moment that it is you that has lung cancer. It is scary to face the reality of having such a disease. One may, ask why me? You will want to find answers to many questions and seek some form of solution. It is human nature that one who is scared in a dark room looks for an exit, as it also natural of a person who is diseased with cancer seeking answers or solutions. Company, F. D. (2009). Cancer from Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. Retrieved March 05, 2011, from credoreference: cancer.
(2009). In Taber’s Cyclopdic Medical Dictionary. Retrieved from http://proxy. dvry. edu/form? qurl=http%3A%2F%www. credoreference. com/entry/tcmd/cancer Hamblin, J. D. (2005). cancer from Science in the Early Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 05, 2011, from credoreference: Cancer. (2005).
In Science in the Early Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://proxy. devry. edu/form? qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. credoreference. com/entry/abcscieth/cancer NewsRx. com. (2010, November 24). Drug Week. (D. Week, Ed. ) Lung Cancer, p. page 116.