Cancer

Jenelle Green
Interview # 2
Media Writing


Finding out you have cancer can be some of the worst news you might ever hear. Your whole world changes right after you here the doctor give his diagnosis. For Diane Tubbs and Dawnell Briggs those frightening words had them in disbelief. They were afraid of what the future was going to hold for them.
Breast cancer is the No. 1 cause of death worldwide for women who have cancer. In the United States it is the most common cancer and the second most common cause of death, the first being lung cancer. Women in the U.S. have a one in eight chance of developing breast cancer and a one in 33 chance of breast cancer causing their death. A study done by the Society of Women’s Health research found that breast cancer is the most feared disease even though heart disease is the number one killer of women.
Tubbs had a thought something was wrong for a while when she found she had a lump in her breast. She kept asking her doctor to do checkups to detect any type of cancer in her body, but nothing was found. Finally her suspicions came true when the lump turned out to be breast cancer.
"I was 44 years-old and I was devastated. Initially I was surprised and then I became optimistic. I had a good family support system," Tubbs said.
Doctors found the cancer in Diane’s body early enough that the they were quite optimistic and had faith that she would beat the cancer with no problem. There are several different stages of the cancer from one to five with one being the lowest risk; Tubbs's breast cancer was just barely into stage two.
She began chemotherapy treatments and the doctors removed her lymph nodes however she was lucky and the lymph nodes didn't contain cancer in them. Once cancer goes into the lymph nodes it spreads throughout the body a lot easier. When going through chemotherapyTubbs was lucky enough not to lose her hair. She had a complete mastectomy on her left side.
"The surgery took three days," she said. "I also had six chemo treatments that weren't too bad. I felt like I had the flue for three or four days and then I healed."
After fighting breast cancer and winning the battle, Tubss has a different outlook on life.
"I appreciate life better and enjoy the good things. I take one day at a time and I live today like there may not be a tomorrow," she said with a smile on her face.
She said she still gets paranoid and the fear of the cancer coming back never fully goes away, but every day gets better
Why is breast cancer so feared among women? One reason is that almost everyone knows of someone who has had breast cancer and many know someone who has passed away from breast cancer. Also being a woman, you hear new findings from studies done on cancer every day. There was a study that came out a little earlier this year connecting drinking alcohol with having a higher risk of getting breast cancer.
With all the issues concerning breast cancer, there are ways to detect breast cancer in its early stages. Yearly checkups with the gynecologist and regular self breast cancer tests allow a woman to be more in control and aware of what’s going on in her body.
Another type of cancer that is becoming more popular and plagues women today is cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the malignant cancer of the cervix. There are usually no symptoms until the cancer is in its more advanced stages but in some cases vaginal bleeding can be a sign. Once again, regular pap smears and visits to the gynecologist can help early detection.
Treatment of cervical cancer can consist of surgery in the early stages and chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the advanced stages. There is also a preventative against certain types of cervical cancer now. A vaccine for two HPV strains is being recommended for teenagers and adults in their early to mid-twenties up the age of 26 who are sexually active. The two strains for HPV is said to cause 70 percent of all cases of cervical cancer.
Dawnell Briggs didn't have one of the two strains that are caused by HPV. However, she was lucky enough to catch it in its early stages. Dawnell found out she had cervical cancer about 10 years ago when going to a yearly check up.
"I was extremely lucky because I hadn't been to a yearly pap smear in over three years, "she said.
When doctors found the cervical cancer they advised her she would need to have a full hysterectomy. The entire process took about three weeks. Dawnell was also lucky enough to not have to undergo chemo therapy. The cancer didn't spread through her lymph nodes either. After the initial discovery and treatment of the cancer she had to go back to the doctors every three months for a checkup. It is said after five years you are pretty much cancer free.
"My son was 8 at the time of my cancer and every time the phone would ring and it would say Mckay Dee hospital on the caller ID he would get worried and ask me if I was going to die,” she said. "He is 19 now and even today if the doctor’s office is on the caller ID, he still gets paranoid."
Dawnell said the cancer has completely changed how she looks at things.
"Whenever I get depressed, I think of how lucky I am," she says.
Both Dawnell and Diane are extremely lucky and living cancer free today. They have both been through cancer and survived. Not everyone does and it is a harsh reality in the world we live in today. All any of us can do is take each day at a time, but if the opportunity and resources are there to detect and prevent cancer, we would be stupid not to take them.