Informative Essay About Cancer
Cancer is a word that no one wants to hear or think about, however there are many people that are faced with this ugly word every day. The denotative definition of cancer is a malignant and invasive growth or tumor, especially one originating in epithelium, tending to recur after excision and to metastasize to other sites. To many Americans cancer is so much more than this definition, it is estimated that 1,638,910 men and women will be diagnosed with cancer in 2012 according to the national cancer institute.
When someone is diagnosed with cancer it affects many aspects in their life such as physical health, mental health, and emotional health. Cancer affects a person’s physical health tremulously. Depending on if a person does any type of treatment or not will directly affect how much a person physical health is affected. People who have survived this horrid disease have long term physical disabilities. Men and women may become infertile; this means they are unable to have children of their own.
A person who has or is a survivor of cancer is very fatigue. The tiredness comes from the exhaustion of going through the processes of medical treatment, in and out of doctor’s offices and the body being weak due to the disease. Cancer causes other diseases such as heart disease or lung disease, lymph edema, osteoporosis, depression, and second cancers(Lance Armstrong foundation p5). A person’s body can only take so much before it just shuts down and stops fighting for life.
Cancer takes a huge toll on a person physically; sometimes the body cannot handle it and stops working. Mental health is very important to maintain especially when diagnosed with a ghastly disease such as cancer. Cancer affects a person’s mental health a great deal. A person suffering from cancer may also suffer from depression. The depression that they are encountering may not have anything to do with their cancer. It could be that they are depressed for outside reasons such as loss of a loved one (WFMH. p2).
Their depression could very much so be related to their cancer, no one is thrilled to hear they have a disease that takes people’s lives every day. The fact that a person has cancer could very well put them in a depressed state. Another mental hazard that is directly caused by having cancer is anxiety. Cancer is a word that gets people very anxious; anxious to know what’s going to happen how did this happen what to do ect… mental health is necessary to have when dealing with a life changing disease, most people cannot keep their head level enough to stay in a sane mind set.
Cancer has the most affect on the emotional health. Cancer not only affects the patient directly but also friends and family. From an emotional stand point cancer is the worst thing that could happen to a person. It is a disease that is packed with emotions and feeling. Those who are diagnosed with this disease are mostly flabbergasted with pain of the heart and disbelief. The patients often think what will happen to them and how are they going to get through this horrible disease.
Family and friends are affected because they have to watch their loved one go through this hardship. When I interviewed Kelly Mitchell about her Aunt Deena dying from cancer she said “The hardest part for me was to watch my aunt go from such a strong women in every way to a brittle little lady who had lost all hope of getting better, I really believe that if she had maintained good emotional health she would have lived a lot longer or maybe even beat it. Emotionally no one is ready to die or hear that they have a life threatening disease. Most people’s natural reaction would not be to keep a positive mind set. Cancer is such a negative word and creates a lot of emotions. How can one disease affect so many in so many ways? A person who is diagnosed with cancer needs to maintain a positive attitude because it is going to drain them of their mental physical and emotional health.
