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The effects of cancer on the body
The effects of cancer on the body
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In paragraph 15 of her book Bright-Sided, author Barbara Ehrenreich uses the term “debilitating“to describe the effects of chemotherapy. In my opinion, this choice of word is appropriate in discussing the state in which breast cancer patients often find themselves while undergoing cancer treatments. In my 3 years of experience as a hospice nurse, I have cared for several patients in the final stages of their breast cancer diagnosis and journey. In the little time I’ve had to spend with those patients have I learnt about the life they lived , their families , pets , favorite books , music, skin tome , hair color , and even height prior to their diagnosis , or during its early stages. Often when I arrive in the home it is extremely difficult
Cause and Effect The author of Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich, began her experiment in Key West because she lived near there. Then she moved to Portland, ME since it was mostly white.
Final Gifts, written by hospice care workers, Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelly, includes various stories detailing each of their life changing experiences that they encountered with their patients. Hospice care allows the patient to feel comfortable in their final days or months before they move on to their next life. This book contains the information considered necessary to understand and deal with the awareness, needs, and interactions of those who are dying. Not only are there stories told throughout the book, there are also tips for one to help cope with knowing someone is dying and how to make their death a peaceful experience for everyone involved. It is important that everyone involved is at as much peace as the person dying in the
Barbara Ehrenreich’s story, in her book “Nickel and Dimed,” was humbling to read. Her quote at the end of her book left me speechless. She states, “I grew up hearing over and over to the point of tedium that hard work was the secret to success: ‘Work hard and you’ll get ahead’ or ‘It’s hard work that got us where we are.’ No one ever said that you could work hard—harder even than you ever thought possible—and still find yourself sinking ever deeper into poverty and debt (220).’” When I first started to read this quote I thought it was going to be encouraging, but by the end my heart felt heavy for people like Ehrenreich that are stuck in poverty and can’t seem to get out, no matter how hard they work. It is such an eye opener to me because I have grown up hearing things such as “work hard to get what you want”, which is similar to what Ehrenreich has heard as well, yet Ehrenreich didn’t find this to be true. Being privileged and having parents that support my financially is something that I take for granted.
After reading the different stories in the book “Final Gifts”, I believe I have a better understanding of the nurse’s role in caring for the needs of the dying patient and how their families need to be guided through this experience. The different stories in this book provide insight into the experiences of the dying as well as how their loved ones cope with their loss. The authors Maggie Callahan and Patrician Kelly, experienced hospice nurses who have extensive exposure to dying patients and their families, through their shared stories, paint a picture of what the dying want. To many, death is a difficult concept.
Imagine waking up and regretting going to work not because you don’t love your job, but because you are facing injustices at your workplace. When we apply for a job we expect to get hired and when we do, we are always nervous and anxious on our first day because we don 't know what to expect. In “Nickle and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich, she is an undercover journalist that explores the impact of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act on the working poor in the United Sates. Ehrenreich explores the process of applications and the difficulties of being a low-wage worker in and outside the workplace. The process of applications could be scary as well as humiliating, in some cases. Sometimes, the application process seems unfair, and the workplace and its
Ever hear one say, “Sometimes I’m busy making others happy, that I forget to make sure I’m okay.”? After reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-Sided I have learned that balancing both positive and negative thinking is the single most important life lesson shown throughout the book. Ehrenreich tells readers that the power of positive thinking Is undermining America and how being too positive and too optimistic, can lead to trouble. One that knows how to balance the amount of positivity and negativity will create a proper outcome for their future.
In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich, a prominent and prolific journalist in Florida, posed an interesting question to her editor: “How does anyone live on the wages available to the unskilled” (Ehrenreich, 2001, p. 1). In this idea, Ehrenreich set out on a journey to discover just how “the other half” lived on the low wages that they receive. During her project, Ehrenreich set out playing the role of a divorcee hoping to re enter the workforce by taking on the task of finding an unskilled, low paying job in hopes to see just how the poorer class made it with such low pay. Throughout the book, Ehrenreich takes jobs that pay typically between 5to 7 dollars per hour. It is interesting to look into how the attitude of Ehrenreich changes in respect to the
My views about Ehrenreich’s novel that it was filled with educational details of minimum wage job occurrences. The author captures concrete memories of her experiences of several job positions. Working in several jobs of hard manual labor is exhausting for the mind and body. The job experiments involving all these jobs to see what many struggling people endure on a daily basis. I thought the experiments resulted in average, and intolerable work environments. Working one or two jobs was needed to survive and pay for necessities. From my perspective, it was a useful trial to show readers the hardships people of every culture deal with constantly.
Barbra Kruger is a revolutionary, and feminist artist that is shaking modern society. Kruger was born in 1945. Currently, Kruger is teaching at the University of California at Los Angeles. She resides in Los Angels, however, she travels between both New York City and Los Angels often (CITE). Her education is not what many people assume world class artist would have come from (CITE). She did not take a traditional path and never thought she’d actually become an artist; maybe a fashion editor, but never recognized for her work (CITE YT). According to Art History, Kruger took a year of classes at the Syracuse University in 1964, where she evolved an interest in graphic design and art. The following year, she enrolled in Parson School of Design. There she studied with many
On February 14th I spent a day doing something I never thought I would do in a million years, I went to hospice. I always thought I would hate hospice, but I actually didn’t mind it too much, it isn’t a job I see myself doing in the future but it is a job that I understand why people do it and why they enjoy it. During this observation I was touched by how much these nurses really seem to care for each of the patients that they have.
Samarel, N. (1997). Therapeutic touch, dialogue, and women's experiences in breast cancer surgery. Holistic Nursing Practice, 12(1), 62-70.
Throughout the duration of research paper, the researcher was able to receive first-hand testimony from a breast cancer survivor via email. The interview included questions such as: (1) the year and stage the breast cancer was diagnosed; (2) the level of awareness prior to diagnosis; (3) treatments used to combat cancer (chemotherapy, radiation or a combination of both); (4) the present condition of the breast cancer; and (5) the treatment, prevention, or examinations used to keep breast cancer in remission. The interviewee (remains nameless) was diagnosed on July 5, 2002 at Jefferson Hospital from a yearly mammogram. Her breast cancer was diagnosed in stage I, less than 1 mm in diameter (Office of Women’s Health n.d). She exclaimed she was very aware of the heredity risk in her family because of previous family members diagnosed with breast cancer. She received two lumpectomies, following a port was placed in her arm for easier access to her vein during chemotherapy. She received four rounds of chemotherapy, each spaced out by three weeks; she also underwent six weeks of r...
Nurses are both blessed and cursed to be with patients from the very first moments of life until their final breath. With those last breaths, each patient leaves someone behind. How do nurses handle the loss and grief that comes along with patients dying? How do they help the families and loved ones of deceased patients? Each person, no matter their background, must grieve the death of a loved one, but there is no right way to grieve and no two people will have the same reaction to death. It is the duty of nurses to respect the wishes and grieving process of each and every culture; of each and every individual (Verosky, 2006). This paper will address J. William Worden’s four tasks of mourning as well as the nursing implications involved – both when taking care of patients’ families and when coping with the loss of patients themselves.
“Just take my hand, together we can do it, I’m gonna love you through it.” (I’m Gonna Love You Through It- Martina McBride). Breast cancer is an awful disease that will change your life in a single moment. ”Everything in my life was turned upside-down. I really had a wonderful life; A husband, three children. And breast cancer came along and just smashed my world” (Janelle’s Journey). Breast cancer is an aggressive war that takes a great amount of fighting to survive. “You go from being perfectly healthy, to feeling like, ‘okay, I’m dying’. It started a whirlwind of things that I never anticipated having to go through.” (Bonnie’s Story- Beyond The Shock). Did you know that the youngest person ever to have been diagnosed with breast cancer
"My HealtheVet." Coping Skills- Breast Cancer. United States Department of Veterans Affairs, n.d. Web. 7 Apr 2014.