Rhetoric of Cancer

The idea of this podcast really caught my attention when it was first mentioned in class. I have never been a fan of podcasts because I find myself spacing out in the middle, only hearing things and not listening.

When I heard about it, I was surprised that it was even considered a topic of concern. I have never been in direct "contact" with cancer, because fortunately I have not lost anyone close to cancer, and only distant relatives have had it. Given my lack of exposure, I’ve always thought that that was just the way it was spoken of, and I’ve never really bothered to ask why.

Listening to the podcast piqued at my curiosity, because the speaker did present a good point. It was unclear why a person would want to wage a war against himself, after all, cancer was just part of one’s body, but it was considered a whole being on its own.

I think that the language that people use to describe cancer has been more for the benefit of the loved ones of the cancer patient. Trying to understand what they experience, I think that they would want their loved one who has cancer to fight, and to get through it. It would be a foreign idea to them for someone to not dislike their cancer. I think if I were to have a close family member diagnosed with cancer, I would want him/her to hate it and the circumstance as much as I would, and I would also want him/her to want it gone ASAP.

The problem however with this kind of thinking is that it makes personifies cancer as a big villain with a mind of its own, when it should be treated just like the rest of other chronic diseases, and that was what the podcast was trying to say. Cancer should be put back into perspective as a disease, and nothing more.

Overall, the podcast made me think about the way I thought of cancer, and although the way I see it has somehow shrunk it to a smaller size, I still would not wish to be in direct “contact” with it for as long as I can avoid it.

Lizabeth Ann Franco

2009-29329