At first glance Rose Kushner’s “If you’ve thought about breast cancer…” is extensively detailed. Upon further inspection it’s safe to conclude that the book has indeed what seems to be everything one might want to know on the topic of breast cancer. With a table of contents that covers the first steps of identifying lumps to detailed content on surgical procedures and stages of breast cancer (32-41). I especially like how Kushner reminds the reader not to panic. With the fright of finding a lump or bump on breast tissue one’s first reaction might be to be to jump conclusions of facing imminent death from cancer. This statement, “If you find something you’re worried about DON’T PANIC!” (2) reminds me of friends and family that have stressed over the possibility of cancer before seeing a medically trained professional with experiences eyes and hands. Taking precautions is important, but from my understanding stressing over the possibility of a serious illness only increases fear and panic that might delay someone from initially going to see a doctor. As well, what I find to be important in Kushner’s book are the sub-sections for the procedures, whether they are safe and what exactly they do- for procedures such as mammograms Kushner even estimates the cost (6). It’s hard to find something negative to say about “If you’ve ever thought about breast cancer…”. Perhaps, it could use an expanded section for the risks and procedures for men developing breast cancer, however, as Kushner writes, “men get breast cancer…but very rarely compared to women’ (18). Thus, is if the overwhelming majority of those targeted by the disease are women it makes sense to write mainly for those most at risk. Over all, Rose Kushner’s extensive knowledgeable guide through breast cancer is an avid tool for any woman who has ever wondered about breast cancer.

Over the years it seems like Rose Kushner’s strife for widespread information on breast cancer treatment options has developed into a lucrative businesses selling items like pink ribbon bumper stickers and mugs. Which is not to say is entirely a bad thing. The commercialization of breast cancer seems like a strange thing, yet it also seems to be effective in promoting the disease in terms of funding and individual awareness.

One of the first things that stands out to me when accessing Susan G. Komen’s for the Cure website is the well tailored structure of the site. In the background a touching picture makes you want to press the shopkomen.com button placed strategically first on the tool bar. It’s the sweetness of children mixed in with the feel of a loving mother that this site really takes advantage of. In this sense, the Breast Cancer Action website is the opposite. Instead, the sites layout directs you to a list on the side with options such a ‘take action’ and ‘ volunteer’. This site takes a much more individualistic and proactive approach with an abundance of information on how you, the visitor of the site, can do the most to help. This approach of providing a variety of options for the viewer to be an active participant instead of a consumer appeals the most to me. I also noticed bcaction.org to have a large blog page with  an assortment of information ranging from mammograms and early detection to environmental chemicals as possible cancer agents. Over all, the spread of information and proactive nature of  Breast Cancer Action brings about a more practical feel than Komen’s over commercialized and narrowed view on a multifaceted issue.

I’ve never been so ill that I’ve needed hospitalization. I’ve gone as far as breaking both my ankles (on separate occasions) but so far my health has been pretty good despite the occasional cold -which is unavoidable despite how many vitamin C tablets you take. It seems illness is one of the few guarantees about living in a society in which you are forced to come in contact with large amounts of people whether it be at school, transit or work.

At some point in your life you will become ill, and how you react to your illness can be a reflection of multiple aspects of society.  For instance, buying cold medication and staying home from work or school to rest is a pretty regular response to catching a cold. Yet, depending on a persons economic situation this experience of rest and medication might not be an option. Thus, in a way two people with the same illness might have completely opposite experiences. As a reflection on society how  many sick days  a person takes can be an indication of the well being of a population.  As Brown notes in ‘Naming and Framing: The Social Construction of Diagnosis and Illness’ how we experience illness in turn defines it. Yet, this approach of looking at the societal construction of illness seems to complicate the approach of diagnosing and in turn curing . Namely, what role, if any, do doctors need to adopt to become all encompassing to the needs of their patients?

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There’s a bit of a craze in the world in regards to personal health. That’s not to say when you are ill that you should disregard symptoms or demean others with illnesses. Yet, only yesterday did I come home to a debate between my roommates on the best way to expel ‘toxins’ from the body. That is the topic revolved around  trends they heard that would make you ‘more healthy’ and  less full of the  poisonous substances that seem to be lurking in all our veins. Some of these ideas seem great like eating more vegetables, drinking green tea and  exercising daily. While, other things,  like following a strict vegan diet while consuming only water every other day , as one of my roommates suggested, seems extreme at the least. A great source to these ideas of health seems to come from the media. As Ben Goldacre points out in his TED talk  ”Battling bad science’ media outlets love to publish articles like ‘ House Work Prevents Cancer’ and inform us that we are ill in some way and they can fix it. Even the pharmaceutical companies that are supposed to be proving hard data for potentially damaging drugs bias and skew their results to their economic favour. Its no wonder than that we worry about the potential toxins in our bodies when  we  notice vital information is being withheld. Becoming ill is a dramatic topic in a sense, it can remind you of your mortality which in turns feeds the media who produce bogus articles on WiFi cancer prevention.