When many people think of cancer they believe that is one of the worst things that could happen to a person, but until you actually go through what it is like to have cancer and Audre Lorde does a great attempt at exemplifying the discomfort, insecurities and neglect that a woman with breast cancer goes through. Many women who's family members have had breast cancer and who know that there is a chance to get cancer may or may not want to go through the whole process of getting a mastectomy. In my Global Health class we learned about how many women would rather not know and just live their lives the way that they want to and would rather live a life without worrying about going on treatment. While other women would want to do anything possible to get rid of the cancer, and there are many ways of doing it. For Example having a mastectomy. “A mastectomy is surgery to remove all breast tissue from a breast as a way to treat or prevent breast cancer. For those with early-stage breast cancer, mastectomy may be one treatment option. Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy), in which only the tumor is removed from the breast, may be another option.” (Mayoclinic, 2016)
I remember having a childhood friend who's mother had breast cancer and she first went through treatment until deciding that she wanted a mastectomy. Even though she kept a smile on her face whenever I saw her during her recovery time and she never let her daughter see how much pain she was in while recovering. They were very close so Im pretty sure she knew how much pain she was in and that scared her. When it was her time go to the doctor she was very afraid of getting a mammogram and her mother couldn't make her do it because she was of age. I remember asking her why she didn't want to know if there was a possibility of having breast cancer and she said she would rather not know because she likes to live in the moment. This saying was always strange to me because I am the type of person to worry about everything and everything even before it happens. It wasn’t until my Global Health class my first year of college that my professor said some people would rather live their life by “Quality over Quantity” instead of vice versa. Breast Cancer is something that can be treatable if you have the right resources and money. “Each woman responds to the crisis that breast cancer brings to her life out of a whole pattern, which it the design of who she is and how her life has been lived.” (Lorde 1) I think that this quote relates to my friend and about how her character was she had a very type A personality and she wanted everything to be in order and if things that weren't in her control she would shut down and not handle things like that well.
Mastectomies is one way of getting rid of breast cancer and knowing that you will be living more of a quantity lifestyle. There is also the choice of when you get a mastectomy you can get reconstructed which basically means breast implants. There is also the choice of getting a tattoo over the are of your breasts. The first time I heard about this was on the tv show The Fosters; where one of the lead mothers had breast cancer and she got a mastectomy. But before she got it she went to a support group and she heard about women getting beautiful tattoo over their chest that symbolizes the remembrance of their cancer.
Every time I think about breast cancer, I always wonder about what I would do and the choices that I would have to make. I think that if a woman chooses to have a mastectomy and reconstruction then she should be able to without the extra cost, or have the tattoo done. Whichever one make the woman feel more comfortable. Being comfortable in what ever you decide should be the main goal for you, it doesn't matter what society may see you as and I hope that people will understand that. Also see that even if you don’t have breast that does not mean you are butch or less feminine, it just means that you overcame a terrible disease.
Cited:
Lorde, Audre. The Cancer Journals. San Francisco: Aunt Lute, 1997. Print.
"Mastectomy." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Staff, 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 02 May 2016.
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