Today, right now, there are so many issues I could tell you that worry me in regards to my health. There are genetic diseases and factors that play a huge role in this thought process as well as environmental roles. I guess I should first tell you what my main concern is that I feel is a huge health issue, and that is cancer. If I had to choose what kind of cancer specifically I would have to say lung cancer. This is not an issue that runs in my family which makes my choice a little odd to some. But lets be honest here, how many people do you know have had lung cancer and survived? As a matter of fact, how many women do you know that have been diagnosed with lung cancer and did not smoke? I can personally say that every woman I know that has been diagnosed has not smoked and has been under the age for 40. And the icing on the cake... they all found out by the time it had spread and were only given a matter of months to live, if that. So, all in all this is my biggest concern. There are very few signs and symptoms that give it away. And to top lung cancer off, it does not discriminate. No matter how old you are, how much you weigh, how much you run and do NOT smoke, what ethnicity you are, this is something that can get you. This type of disease, this type of cancer, is the most worrisome to me.
When I interviewed some women I found out that we all have similar and very different views of what health issues matter most. Each of the three women had different views from one another.
#1 was worried about cervical cancer. Even though there are strides being made to help decrease women's chances, and how treatable it is, this was her biggest concern. As a young Caucasian women of the age 25, she realizes that this is a huge issue to young women all over the world because of lack of health care and education.
#2 was most worried about lung cancer. She is an older Asian woman who runs everyday and does not smoke. She has known a few people who have passed away due to lung cancer and have also been very healthy individuals who showed no signs. I most defiantly agree with her, although I do not favor any issue over another.
#3 was a middle aged Hispanic-American woman who was concerned about obesity. This is largely due to her family history as well as culture. She realizes that with obesity comes other issues such as heart disease and diabetes.
I can not help but completely agree with all three women! I mean it is so hard to say only one issue concerns me. Even when it comes down to deciding the most concerning health issue, more than one most likely will come to mind. I hope that as I get older, new discoveries and advances are made towards understanding each of these issues and more than anything, I hope that everyone tries to live a healthy and happy life... because you honestly never know what the next day will bring.
Until next week,
Sara
Sara,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. I worry about being diagnosed with any type of cancer. My grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer, but survived. I’ve always known that all types of cancer are very serious, but lung cancer isn’t the first one that comes to my mind. I guess I have never really been as worried about lung cancer as other types such as breast cancer, but after reading your blog, I looked up some lung cancer facts on the National Lung Cancer Partnership website. Here are three that I found shocking:
• Lung cancer kills more than 160,000 people annually – more people than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined.
• Lung cancer is responsible for more than 28% of all cancer-related deaths every year.
• Less money is spent on lung cancer research than on research on other cancers. In 2007, the National Cancer Institute estimated it spent only it spent only $1,415 per lung cancer death compared to $13,991 per breast cancer death, $10,945 per prostate cancer death, and $4,952 per colorectal cancer.
I have never realized that lung cancer is responsible for over ¼ of cancer-related deaths, which makes it very disappointing that there isn’t adequate money for research. I have spent plenty of time raising money for breast cancer, but now I think I might focus on raising awareness of lung cancer for awhile.
I am so glad that you wrote about lung cancer being your main concern. It gave me some information that I wouldn’t have looked for otherwise.
http://www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org/index.cfm?page=lung_cancer_facts_US