Help writing a paper..Please

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All4God
All4God Member Posts: 19
edited June 2014 in Stage I Breast Cancer

Hey everyone,

  Some of you may know me, some may not. I am waiting on my results from my lumpectomy from Friday, should have them Thur...yay cant wait....Anyway I am a full time student, part time employee, full time wife and mother.

I have been givin the opportunity in ENG 114 to write a paper on what ever I wanted. I have to present this to my class next week. Seeing how I am going through this I thought this is the best topic for me.

If anyone could help me out. If you could stand in front of a room filled with men and women of all ages who NEED to know about BC...

What would you all tell them?

What is the most importiant thing you believe they should know?

What do you go through that you believe if someone else knew they may beable to prevent this or catch it earlier?

Thank you all for your help. I feel if more people heard from someone going through it that they may see the reasons to go and get things that are different check out.

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  • peggy_j
    peggy_j Member Posts: 1,700
    edited April 2012

    All4God, sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis and that you're still waiting for the final path report. I swear those waiting periods are their own special pain.

    I appreciate your sentiment of trying to help people, but I think it can be tough and touchy to try to educate people on these issues especially when you're in the thick of it, emotionally.  I think many people know; whether they choose to act on it or not is up to them (the same way I tried to convince my dad to stop smoking for decades and he refused!) Unfortunately, we still don't know how to prevent BC. The best we have are the possible risks factors. You could present those. This website has a section that discuss those, including chemicals like BPA (found in canned foods. Something I now avoid).

     http://www.breastcancer.org/risk/

    Unfortunately, there's still not a perfect cause and effect, which means that cancer is still a bit of a crapshoot (IMO). Early screening can sometimes save lives; it can sometimes change Tx options (mine was caught early and I didn't need chemo. yay!) But screening isn't perfect. I know several women who had mammos and then found a large tumor themselves within 6 months. So I'd caution against over-stating the benefits of screening. It can help detect. It definitely can't prevent.

    Maybe one option is to put yourself in the seat of your classmates. Imagine if you were sitting there, pre-Dx (so maybe  year ago). What do you (the you of today) think that the you of last year would want or need to know? i.e. what would you respond to (vs. what might sound like preaching or scary information they can't act on?)

    For what it's worth, I never tried to educate anyone, but when family and friends heard my story, some chose to catch up on any screenings they may have missed. Some did not.   So even if you don't purposely educate people, you may motivate some people just by sharing your story. Good luck! Fingers crossed on a good path report!!!

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  • itsjustme10
    itsjustme10 Member Posts: 796
    edited April 2012

    I would wait until the results of your biopsy, since you don't know whether or not you have it, and the results would obviously change your paper greatly.

     Then I would put myself into the shoes of the parents of the 18 year old boys and girls in your class, and pretend that you're explaining it to your own children.  Let what you say be what you would want your children to hear from some lady in their English class, and let that guide you.  Its a sensitive subject, and very scary for kids to hear about, and that's what those classmates of yours are - someone else's chldren.  So, if you pretend they're your own, your heart will tell you how to write your paper.

    II guess if I were going to present a paper on the subject, I would be researching how survival rates have increased over the years, and the reasons why, what new research is being done, and depending how in depth you are planning on going, maybe which drug companies have test protocols out there, maybe what local fund raising is being done to raise awareness and fund research, and how that's changed over the years. Depending on the socio-economic status of your community, talk about education efforts, local fund raising efforts, any governmental entities in your area providing free screening  Discuss how you would like the university to spearhead community education/testing/fund raising as well.   If your speech makes even one of those kids go home, and torture their mother to get tested, it could save a life.

    Good luck with both your test results and the speech/paper.. You can probably get some statistical information here or from the American Cancer society - both sites would be good places to begin your research, as they can direct you to more sources. 

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  • All4God
    All4God Member Posts: 19
    edited April 2012

    Thank you for your responces. I have been asked to delete or edit. I have chosen to delete it. Thank you gain ladies this has helped me very much!

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