Cancer From One Extreme to Another

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Cancer...a small unnoticed alien to our bodies, forever evolving, growing and creating havoc in the lives of a worldwide population. An initially shocking diagnosis followed by the fear of treatment, the unknown, often affects the family members as well as patients around the globe. In 2006 my grandmother was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer that she discovered while we were on a family vacation. The fear that she must have felt as she kept it hidden from us until she was able to go home and get a proper diagnosis must have been great! I was told a few days after the diagnosis and I immediately became fearful, angry, sad, depressed, and confused. My grandmother was fortunate enough to have good doctors that were able to destroy all of the cancer before it spread too far. My grandmother now leads a normal life with minimal side effects left from the chemotherapy and radiation treatments. I personally have recovered from most of my emotions regarding my grandmother; however my sister, who was younger at the time has not been able to look at my grandmother the same way ever since. We are lucky that our feelings were manageable, but what emotional effects do the patients and their families experience from diagnosis to final outcome?

In the environment that we live in today, America is being subjected to new and dangerous factors that can ultimately cause cancer and potentially harm the health and safety of the population. The barrage of conflicting and confusing reports that are published almost weekly can cause anxiety and fear in people who may never even have cancer, but for those whose diagnosis is real, even the strongest individuals can be brought to their knees with the news. Even though medical procedures are advancing da...

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...c Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.

Barraclough, Jennifer. "Cancer and Emotion: A Practical Guide to Psycho-oncology." Cancer and Emotion: A Practical Guide to Psycho-oncology (n.d.): netLibrary. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.

Baider, Lea.; Cooper, Cary L.; Kaplan De-Nour, A. "Cancer and the Family." Cancer and the Family (n.d.): netLibrary. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.

Hudson, Lois. Telephone interview. 20 Mar. 2011.

Marcy List, et al. "State Anxiety and Cancer-Specific Anxiety in Survivors of Breast Cancer." Journal of Psychosocial Oncology 22.4 (2004): 93-109. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.

Edwards, Ben, and Valerie Clarke. "THE PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF A CANCER DIAGNOSIS ON FAMILIES: THE INFLUENCE OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING AND PATIENTS' ILLNESS CHARACTERISTICS ON DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY." Psycho-Oncology 13.8 (2004): 562-576. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.

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