Barbara Ehrenreich gives us a somewhat warm welcome to cancerland in her article. Her writing gives her readers a different mindset on cancer. She raises different points about how cancer is objectified, considered beautiful, infantilized, as well as how it robs patients of their autonomy. People think cancer and they think chemo or death. Ehrenreich focused much of her writing on reminding us of the ways that, breast cancer specifically, is objectified by society.
In her article “Welcome to Cancerland” she seems to be trying to portray the concept that people have become less empathetic to the disease through the objectifications, but I think that they are trying to create a hopeful atmosphere. Breast cancer was not always as popular as it is now. The feminists of the past brought awareness to the disease. They laid the foundation that later made breast cancer as well known as it is now. As the years past, more people paid more attention to breast cancer. The disease has now reached the point where it is objectified.
Cancer has become a thing and its patients are its accessories. It has lost its meaning through the pink products, marathons, and fundraisers. I can understand how Ehrenreich had become annoyed by the situation. After reading her article I have come to the conclusion that she thinks that people are no longer seeing the intensity of cancer. This makes her feel, in a way, forgotten. However, I do not think that this is the intention of the pink products. I think that the different national breast cancer organizations are trying their best to help the patients stay positive.
The teddy bears, duffle bags, scarfs, bracelets, and everything else have the opposite intention of what Ehrenreich is feeling. The organizations accept donations in order to help those suffering from breast cancer. They want to offer support to those who are struggling, because they know how deadly and harmful the disease is. This is why they not only sell products, but also offer other forms of support such as personal stories and survivorship tips. I am sure that they are aware of how “fluffy” they make the disease seem, but to be fair nobody is going to buy a teddy bear that is vomiting or depressed.
I think that the organizations are trying to get as many proceeds as possible in order to help find a cure. After reading Ehrenreich’s article I also reflected on how cancer is not the only objectified disease. There are others such as: diabetes, AIDS, and heart disease. Each disease has become a thing in their own way. Through this process, society has disregarded the severity on each disease. However, humans simply can’t help it. We are a judgmental species. We look at a food and decide whether or not it is safe to eat. We look at a person and decide whether or not they are approachable.
We hear an illness or disease and then decide how serious it is. I have found that the rarer a disease the more serious people think it is. Medical professionals also contribute to this objectification. Although they do not always do it on purpose, there are some professionals that are not as caring and cautious as others. My nursing professors have taught me the importance of referring to a patient by their name. When we refer to a patient as “the terminal”, “room 303”, or “the cancer patient we are taking away the patients autonomy.
They become a different being and are therefore stripped of their dignity. This is against catholic principle. Thus, my professors have emphasized the importance of making our patient feel “human”. Another way that medical professionals make their patients feel unimportant is by treating differently once they have been diagnosed. I have seen a nurse be inconsiderate enough to treat her patient in a more stand-offish manner because of an acquired disease. This led me to think about how many patients this happens to and how often it occurs. However, the occurrence is not always by health care provider.
Often when someone is seen with a mask and without hair, people will assume they have cancer and thus are more delicate. People are obviously going to treat them differently. This makes my heart hurt, because I imagine that all this person desires is to be able to venture out into their city while not being watched at like a cinema screen. In class we have learned about the importance of virtue, the meaning of ethics in our medical field, and the patient’s right to autonomy. I think that there is a difference between feeling your family and friend’s support versus feeling the support of your doctors and nurses.
We are dependent on our loved one’s reassurance of their everlasting love, but desperate for our medical professionals’ honest truth and guidance. In the midst of all this different support is the one who cares for us most, our God. We seek Him so that we may see light. I believe in my creator. I believe that if the patient cannot see the light on their own, then it is my responsibility to help them. A catholic health care provider should try their best to help their patient keep their head up and to help them to see the good. We are meant to implement the virtues of faith, hope, and charity into our lives.
The lives of nurses and doctors include the lives of others. We are God’s providers of care. We care in His honor. We should help the patient find ways to keep their autonomy, faith, and hope. No matter the patient’s religion, I think that it is our responsibility to help them to see the good in their situations. I think that this may be where Ehrenreich struggled. I wish she had written more about the care she was provided, because then I can know if the nurses and doctors treated her in an unacceptable way. From the reading I got the feeling that she seemed to push away any support offered.
One example is when one of the nurses called her to congratulate her on finishing her treatment, she seemed to be mad. Ehrenreich comes off as a stubborn patient and I am curious how her caretakers adapted to her needs. I also wonder if her care providers were catholic or from some other sort of faithful religion. I can only hope that, if they were catholic, they implemented their faith into their practice. In class we learned that autonomy is central to medicine. I think that the patient’s autonomy is lost when a disease is objectified. The autonomy of the patient helps them to feel independent.
They are stuck in bed, watching television or reading a book while slowly watching the days roll by. From the teachings in class I have formulated the opinion that if the patient has the opportunity to make their own decision, then that should be allowed. They should be aware of what is happening. They should know the truth. When the patient begins to feel like an accessory to their disease | imagine that they feel unimportant. Ehrenreich left me with the impression that this is what she experienced. She felt miniscule next to the over sized awareness of breast cancer.
I wonder how her nurses tried to help her felt her independence again. Breast cancer is the most commonly known cancer. When feminists first began to bring it to the surface is when it needed awareness. Nowadays, mostly everyone is aware of the reality of breast cancer. Ehrenreich illustrates different ways that breast cancer is objectified such as: teddy bears, bracelets, shopping for a cure, marathons, candle holders, and many other products that one can purchase. The proceeds are sent to cancer funds. These products are a thoughtful way to donate to the cause, but they also make the cancer itself seem like an object.
The patients became accessories to the disease, a merchandise. When the disease is normalized, people without the illness forget about how difficult it is to treat. The objectification of cancer blocks out the horror of the disease: the treatment. Chemo and radiation cause nausea, hair loss, depression, stress, and many other side effects. However, people overlook these truths when they consider cancer as beautiful. I think a better way to describe it is war. “War” is not an adjective, but it does describe cancer. There are two outcomes of the disease: you win or you lose.
However, I think this is the more pessimistic way to look at the disease. If one were to take a more catholic approach it would be a “win win” situation. The patient would win if they survive, because they can continue to live their life with their loved ones. The patient also wins if they pass away, because they can be reunited with their amazing creator, God. This should be the outlook that people should have on any disease, not just cancer. AIDS, diabetes, and many other illnesses are objectified, but I think that health care providers should make it their responsibility to help empower their patients.
We take an oath to do no harm and I believe that this includes helping our patients to see the light in a gloomy day, avoid making them feel like a thing, as well as not labeling them because of the disease they happen to have. As a future healthcare provider with catholic morals, I hope to help the patient keep their autonomy; I hope to implement faith, hope, and charity into my daily life as a nurse; and I pray that my patient will feel calm and supported when they are under my care.