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Persuasive Essay On Breast Cancer

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Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally1 and in the United States2 and cancer expenditures exceed $125 billion (approximately 18% of GDP)3,4 in 2010. But¬¬, the human impact of cancer is far deeper than statistics can measure. This summer I turned 22 and I cannot count on my hands the number of people in my life who have been stricken with cancer. Seeing families turned upside-down by disease and the complicated medical world they are thrown into is what inspired me to serve in health care and be there for patients and their loved ones in these darkest moments. In 2010 my aunt Teasa was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was shortly after her husband returned from his last tour in Iraq. She was my favorite aunt, she taught me how to use a computer and would always bring movies and music when she would visit my parents. When my cousin Brittney, and later myself, came out of the closet she was the first and most of supportive guardian figure we could turn to. This was immensely helpful coming from a small rural upstate town near an Army base where supports for LGBT youth were few and far between. Her cancer was operable but she suffered an anesthesia complication which left her face partially paralyzed and her speech permanently impaired. She was never the same after that. She could no longer form words but her thought processes were still intact and we could tell she was emotionally drained from being unable to express herself fully. She passed

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