Persuasive Essay On Cancer

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Cancer is undoubtedly a huge issue today, since about 41% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer (United Press International). However, not many are talking about the significance of mental health for the victims. Each year 12.7 million people are diagnosed and 7.6 million will perish annually from the disease (UPI). Each year, millions of people perish from the disease, and about 25% of them with severe mental illness (National Cancer Institute). The treatment for this disease causes fogginess-depression, anger and many other emotions whose symptoms are often overlooked. Though cancer is not always terminal, it can dramatically affect the mental state of the victim and their loved ones. More should be done to emotionally support cancer …show more content…

A longer life, rather than a shorter, happier life, doesn’t always mean a better life.
Cancer treatment induces a distorted mental state whose symptoms is commonly called, “chemo brain.” Chemo brain is known for chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment or dysfunction. After an MRI of cancer patients brain post chemo, there was a serious decline in brain activity. A few examples of “chemo brain” include memory lapses, trouble concentrating, trouble remembering things, trouble multi-tasking, taking long amounts of time to complete simple tasks, and trouble remembering common words (Hughes). And because brain problems are hard to study and pinpoint the cause of, the symptoms go untreated. …show more content…

Cancer patients lose the ability to be independent and to do simple tasks that they could once do with ease. These people need help going grocery shopping, cleaning, driving, fixing meals, etc. As 35-year-old ovarian cancer survivor Alli Ward states, “This transition from self-sufficiency to dependency was extremely difficult, and it took an emotional toll. After working for years to cultivate independence and self-sufficiency, I felt like a failure” (Ward). Like most cancer patients, she had a very hard time dealing with the loss of her independence and needed to deal with and grieve this loss. Many cancer patients, like Alli, feel like less of a person when the disease strikes. They feel their self worth is lowered, dramatically altering their self image and how they perceive others. This broken image of ourselves is just another reason why more mental health care should be required for cancer patients. People like Alli are left struggling to adjust to the loss of their independence and who they were. Cancer patients are treated more like lab rats and subjects than people. In addition to the incomplete treatment of these people, they feel uncomfortable and embarrassed to seek out mental health care. We have stigmatized mental health to be a sign of weakness and as unimportant. Mental health care is a huge component of one 's health and we need to work together as a culture to undo this misconception. If someone

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