Choose an issue of importance to you – the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope – and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing, there will be no result” this impacts my life by inspiring me to always take action in pursuit of my goals in life. My father was diagnosed with stage 3 Colon cancer February of 2011; he fought his cancer through chemotherapy and radiation treatments. On September 19, 2012 he had the cancerous mass surgically removed. My dad has been in remission since his surgery for a total of 2
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years and 4 months as of January 2015. Knowing individuals with or have overcome cancer is not an abnormality in society in the 21st Century. Cancer is an issue of importance to me because it has affected me and my family as well as a significant number of my friends. Cancer has become a serious worldwide epidemic due to the large number of people affected by it. As of February 4, 2013 according to a Global Press Release, 7.6 million people die from cancer worldwide. Merely looking at that number it makes you wonder exactly how many friends, family, lovers, and lives that those people diagnosed with cancer have left behind. My mother left her job to take care of my father, my brother held off his wedding, and my sister stayed home to take care of me when I was a minor. My dad would tell me during his remission, “If you don’t take care of yourself first then you are of no use to the people around you.” It seemed like a bit of a morbid thing for him to say at the time, but it was entirely true because a person cannot take care of others or go hang out with friends unless their own health is taken care of in the first place. One of the stages I went through with coping was pushing away my friends and family, I tried to focus on only school work.
Though focusing on academics is a good mentality to have in life, as a human we always strive for affection. I grew to miss hanging out with my friends and having long conversations contemplating life and its mysteries. One of my best friends pulled me out of that dreary mentality by a simple comment at the beginning of my freshman year. Jimmie Arbogast told me when passing in the hallways, “Join the Speech, Theatre and Debate group.” In that moment I didn’t really think of what I was doing, I called my mother and told her I was staying afterschool that evening for the meeting of the group. Now it is clear to me that my split decision to join the group changed who I was at the time. I found an organization that embraced me for who I was and accepted me for my faults and insecurities. My coach, Mr. Stan Standly, showed me that every family in the world is affected either directly or indirectly by cancer and the only way to fight it is to have faith and …show more content…
hope. During the time when my father was fighting his cancer he lived in California while my mother went back and forth between California and Texas in order to take care of me while posing as a home-nurse for my dad. Texas denied my dad for medical financial assistance while California approved him so I lived with my sister during his treatment. Chemotherapy pills for one month cost $4,000 for my dad’s specific dosage. The ridiculous treatment costs were crippling towards my family and resulted in depleting both my college funds as well as my parents’ retirement funds. What my family went through I wish upon not one single individual in the world no matter how much I hate them. No one should have to watch as their father puts chemotherapy or as he called it, “human poison” in them and see the effects of it both physically and mentally. The growing concern among many who are patients is the thought of, “what if…” and that can either make or break a person when fighting for your very life against something that has no easy cure. At first my dad was very pessimistic about the whole thing, like he was individually chosen to suffer. However, a nurse told him that only 30% was the medicine and 70% of what would cure him was his own will power and strength. Since then my dad tried his hardest and succeeded in his battle against Colon Cancer though it still affects him and his family each and every day of his life. Once you reach the mentality that you can fight cancer then you have won a mental and emotional battle, but actually keeping up your will and hope throughout all of the treatments is when you win the real war against it.
People still remain uneducated in what cancer is and how it affects the people around them, but it is such a random and socio-economic epidemic on who is diagnosed with cancer that I feel a main issue in the world is cancer due to the numerous amounts of people I know affected by it. My dad was given a second chance at life thanks to the love of people who cared for him and his family and friends who gave him hope when fighting for his life. Cancer is not something that should be taken into consideration lightly by the world, when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer it changes both individuals’ lives. My family was affected directly by cancer and now that my dad is healthy again, he will never completely be the same person that he was before he got cancer. I urge my friends to go to their annual Family Physician visits because I want for no one to go through the sort of turmoil that my father went through. Gandhi speaks the truth often, when you don’t take action to take care of yourself then you are taking no action in part of keeping yourself healthy and
well.
During the winter of my sophomore year of high school my aunt, whom I am very close with, was diagnosed with stage three ovarian and cervical cancer. She underwent various surgeries and chemotherapy treatments, spent weeks in the hospital, and many more weeks battling the effects of the chemotherapy from home.
People can lower their risk of developing colorectal cancer by managing the risk factors that they can control, such as diet and physical activity. It is important to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods and to limit intake of high-fat foods. Physical activity is another area that people can control. Even small amounts of exercise on a regular basis can be helpful, at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days. Also, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.
My extracurricular and academic activities have helped mold me into a person with character and good qualities. These qualities--respect, humility, kindness, ambition, appreciation for diversity and collaboration, and courage--have not come without valuable failures and lessons. I can continue to develop these qualities and build upon these lessons as I go forward with my university goals and the desire I have to enter the healthcare profession as a nurse. I am able to look beyond the exciting, glamorous parts of both and see that there will be lots of hard work and difficulty. I am ready to face those challenges and do my best and give my all.
Although some individuals may believe that it was a miracle that my father survived cancer, it was much more than that. The optimism of my family, friends, and loved ones enabled my dad to relieve his stress and focus on his cancer treatment. This situation has changed my mindset in life and it has provoked me to stay hopeful even when the odds are not in my favor. I’ve began to use positive thinking to help guide myself to my ambitions. This made my transition into adulthood much easier because I was prepared to deal with difficult situations. I began to cherish my loved ones even more than before. I realized all the luxuries that I had received and took for granted. I learned that the most important people in life is your family and without them, it’s near impossible to be successful. If my father had lost his fight, I would have had to become more independent as I would become the man of the house. Going into adulthood, I’ve learned that I should take situations into my owns hands rathering that relying on others. Some people that may be there for you today, may not be there
Cancer is a deadly disease that millions of people die from a year. Many loved ones are killed with little to no warning affecting families across our world. My family happened to be one that was affected by this atrocious disease. This event changed the way my family members and I viewed cancer.
This essay has great points on what my argument is all about that education is important especially in
My journey began when I signed up to play in a golf tournament for the benefit of the Breast Cancer Foundation when, ironically, I discovered a lump in one of my breasts. At the time I was more concerned with the tournament than the lump and I decided to only monitor it for any changes. Much to my chagrin, I noticed it was steadily growing. A friend suggested that I see a doctor. I procrastinated in doing so, prompting my concerned friend to call and make the appointment for me. Looking back now I probably would not have made it to the doctor if it weren't for the action of a friend who unknowingly played a key role in saving my life.
Throughout human history, cancer has devastated people and their families, but until recently, little was known about the gruesome disease. As oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee made his oncology rounds during his fellowship, he witnessed the horrors of cancer and yearned to know more about its history, treatment, and prevention. His book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, he takes the reader on a journey through time, discussing the major events in cancer research. He also analyzes the characteristics of cancer, of what cancer was once though to be, and the changes in the perception of the disease. In all, Mukherjee personifies cancer in his book, and the use of the word ‘biography’ in the title becomes highly appropriate as
The first component of my essay is rights. Without our rights, us Americans could not live our own life. We have so many rights, from freedom of speech, to the right to bare arms, to the right to an education. We do not have to have the aspects of our life controlled by the government. In some countries, there are people who cannot
Colon cancer, also referred to as colorectal cancer, is a cancer of the colon or the rectum. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of death in both men and women and is the third most common malignancy in the United States (Kim). The following will discuss how colon cancer develops, signs and symptoms, causes, and clinical tests used to detect the disease. Prognosis, prevention, and treatment options will also be discussed.
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Tumors are then created and interfere with the digestive, nervous and circulatory systems. It is one of the leading causes of death, reaching 8.2 million deaths in 2012. It is expected that cancer will rise from 14 million to 22 million within the next two decades. With over 100 cancer research centers in the United States studying how to treat this disease, people need to understand the importance of donating, as well as the awareness of signs and symptoms in the early stages.
Katharine Butler Hathaway once said, “A person needs at intervals to separate from family and companions and go to new places. One must go without familiars in order to be open to influences, to change.” In doing this, I broadened my horizons and changed my outlook on life. Now, as I move on to college, I am leaving my family and friends again to educate and better myself so that I am prepared to walk down any path on the road of life.
Like far too many others, cancer has posed as the greatest hurdle in my life. When I was twelve years old, my grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a rare and largely incurable form of cancer that proves to be immensely aggressive to the body of which it takes over. As fortunate as I was to live just down the road from my grandparents’ farm, I
...n tell us that we can support one another for cancers. There are numerous good things that can come out of media, but we must know the difference between what is good and what is not.
When I was in high school I had a problem, which was being shy. Being shy made me seem as if I was anti-social, and caused me to have no friends, but my shyness was decreasing each year of high school because I talked more, and by the time I reached 12th grade I had many friends, who are very close to me till this day. While being in high school, I was always focused on my studies. People believed that I was a genius in high school, but I really wasn’t, I was just focus on the lessons, and understood what the teacher taught us. As I reached eleventh grade, I was chosen to be a part of the National Honor Society; I thought that I was never going to be part of the National Honors Society. I was at the hospital when my friends told me the good news—that I was selected to be part of the National Honors Society. As I reached 12th grade I learned that working while going to school is a bad idea if you can’t multitask right. When I was working I didn’t realized that I wasn’t multitasking right; I wasn’t putting enough effort into my studies, and having a job was distracting me, so I decide to quit my job, and continue my education by going to college. Growing up was scary, but I’m ready what the future is holding for