The Fight
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is difficult, to say the least. Most individuals have lost someone important in their life, whether it be a pet, friend, or family member. My mom lost her father to leukemia when she was 37. In this essay I will discuss the journey my mom and her family went through with my grandfather while he had cancer. My grandfather was a construction worker, so he often would be working on jobs that involved dangerous situations. He worked alongside my uncle Bill, who also developed cancer around the same time. Both my grandfather and uncle were involved in a serious chemical spill at their workplace. The chemical that was spilled was known as benzene, a highly carcinogenic liquid. This chemical was absorbed into both of their skin and led to the production of the cancer. My uncle, however, did not develop leukemia. He developed osteosarcoma, cancer of the bones. He struggled with the cancer for six years and was in and out of remission. They passed away a month apart in the same year. My grandfather began to show early signs of illness when my mom was pregnant with me. Family members and close friends began to notice something wasn’t completely right. He was showing significant bruising, puffiness, and discoloration of the skin. It wasn’t until his best friend pointed out his puffiness at an event they were attending, that he realized he needed medical help. He was always a very strong man and never wanted to show signs of weakness.
People tend to usually tremble when hearing the unpleasant word “Cancer”. Imagine being the one diagnosed with this horrible illness. More and more people in today’s society are struck with certain health issues such as diabetes, obesity, heart diseases and many more. Cancer is the at the top of this horrible chain of problems. Based on my experiences, someone that is diagnosed with cancer, does not realize how life can change so rapidly for them. Their whole lifestyle changes and they have a different outlook on life. Not until a person experiences a family member going through cancer, is he/she able to understand how important spending time with family really is.
Leukemia is “a malignant progressive disease in which the bone marrow and other blood-forming organs produce increased numbers of immature or abnormal leukocytes. These suppress the production of normal blood cells, leading to anemia and other symptoms.”An estimated combined total of 162,020 people in the U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia, 60,192 people die, 14% live in remission and my father is just another statistic. When I was nine years old, my father was diagnosed with Leukemia, an illness that at the time I did not understand. This left my mother raising two kids and working two jobs to make ends meet. Throughout this time of never ending hospital visits, I experienced the kindness and care provided to us by my father’s doctors - something that until this day I will never forget.
“Lets not call cancer patients as patients, they are cancer fighters. They are brave hearts” - Vikrmn, Gura. Nowadays, you hear more and more people getting cancer(13). It is a stress that many people worry about. You worry if one of your parents will get it. You pray your children don't’ get it. It’s a constant worry. You watch television and you can get this horrible monster from microwaving your food, drinking bottled water, carrying your phone in your pocket, using deodorant, coloring your hair and much more. Finding a cure for cancer would be a prayer answered for many.
This leads to where I started back at my house when my dad told my sister and I that my grandfather was diagnosed with Leukemia. That was one of the hardest things for me to hear considering that my grandfather was a big part of my life. My dad said that he was going to be in hospice care without chemotherapy because he said: “That he had lived his life.” Two weeks after being put into hospice care my grandfather passed away with all of his family by his side.
My mom had to take my uncle Raymond to radiation every day for about 3 months, now she has to take him every three months, which affected her daily routine and how she planned her day. She also takes care of him a lot although he isn’t in the hospital or anything he isn’t very ill yet but from what I know I’m sure he will get sick. My uncle David was in his home when he passed away because he was on hospice, this effected everyone who lived in the house. When my uncle David passed away it was a very emotional time for the whole family, however it was kind of a happy moment as well because we knew he wasn’t suffering any more. My uncle David saw all his brothers and sisters before he passed some say that he was waiting to see them all before he said goodbye which could be true. Every person in a family who loses a family member has to deal with the emotional state of each other, some family members can handle death better than others so they are the strong ones in the situation. Cancer effects the whole family not just the patient.
Known as one of the world’s most deadly diseases, second only to heart disease, cancer is a well known killer. Cancer is a disease mankind has been burdened with since the first documented records of human existence (“The History of Cancer”). Until the early 1900s, cancer was exclusively treated with surgery, which didn’t usually yield very effective results. Only recently have doctors reached a point where they can use drug therapies to suppress the disease. Relative to humans, cancer treatments are very new. Because the market for pharmaceutical drugs is so new, they lack many regulations and pricing guidelines. This allows these new companies to create a drug and place almost any price on it. The system in place can very easily be taken
Summer of 2012, my grandfather was diagnosed with stage four Glioblastoma, and given only one year left to live. He had gone to have surgery earlier that week for the removal of his progressive tumor; his condition began to grow worse. The doctors got the tumor on the first try, but it was going to be a while before my grandfather felt back to normal. My family had many more trails and hardships to face in the near future.
Breast cancer is an extremely common disease, affecting about 12% of women in the United States. That’s why The American Cancer Society recommends that all women get their regular mammograms every year after age 40. On top of that, women are taught to look out for any unusual lumps or bumps. That way, they can notify their doctors right away and try to catch any suspected breast cancers early. Did you know that besides an obvious lump or mass, there are other signs of breast cancer that are more subtle? Here, we share some more subtle signs of breast cancer that all women should be aware of.
Cancer. We all know someone who has suffered from it or has passed away because of it. Cancer now affects one in every three people, and is the second highest cause of death in the United States. For decades, the medical community has been on the hunt for a cure for cancer, and have been subjected to intense ridicule from the public because of a lack of progression toward a possible cure. In recent years, many scientists, doctors, researchers, and the general public have come to believe that the cure for cancer is being suppressed because of this lack of progress. Those who say it is suppressed claim that the drugs used to treat cancer actually cause cancer, making a patient sicker and sicker. As a result, the patients are forced to spend
My dad got diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2014. It was a hard year for my family, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. Not even in my worst dreams did I ever see my dad having cancer. The man that I looked up to, and loved to pieces had cancer. I was devastated, I remember crying and being afraid that I was going to lose him to an incurable disease that lurked the lives of many.
I’m gathering this doctor is very devoted to what he does to stop cancer from his answers in the introductory interview, because he explains how he cared for his patients in pediatrics and feeling the hurt these parents were also going through. In a matter of time, after you completely understand the disease, you will find the cure to this disease. This quote is completely true, as it shows a process on science as a whole. Every doctor studying cancer is stimulating the movement on getting closer to a cure. Melissa is Dr. Vogelstein’s first cancer patient, and she had a very low mortality rate due to the amount of knowledge on cancer at the time. Cancers are a form of tumors. Benign tumors are not dangerous, whereas malignant tumors are life-threatening.
Today in the world there are many different types of reproductive cancers. A reproductive cancer I’m going to be writing about is Breast cancer. Yes, its Breast Cancer. According to American Cancer Society (2017) Breast cancer is “Breast cancer starts when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control. These cells usually form a tumor that can often be seen on an x-ray or felt as a lump. The tumor is malignant (cancer) if the cells can grow into (invade)surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. Breast cancer occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get cancer too (pg.1). Although Breast cancer first start in the breast, it can also start from other places surrounding that tissue or area.
In October women fight, they celebrate and they mourn those who have fought Breast Cancer. October is the month dedicated to raising awareness of the disease and finding ways to educate the public, while creating funds to further the research of the Breast Cancer, but most of all it's about supporting those fighting everyday.
It’s October of your fifth grade year, at the end of the day. You’ve gotten back into the swing of things, your teacher is awesome, and you’re at the top of the elementary school food chain. You’re about to walk outside. The weather is beautiful; the trees are still mostly green with a few ambitious leaves already changing color. The sky is blue and the sun is shining in the way it only does during fall. You’re going to remember how it felt to walk across the parking lot on that day for a long time. You’re happy, like you normally are when you leave school, and you get in the car. That’s when Mom tells you your little brother has cancer.
As we busily bustle around our lives, a prevalent problem surfaces, disease. The mournful realization when assessing our situation, is that sick people are polluting the world. Diseases spread like wildfire, leaving a wake of destruction in their path. Our inability to defeat disease highlights the problem, and I have the solution...