Reading Analysis #4: Defining and Contesting Illness- Cancer

The readings that were assigned for this week dealt with the broad topic of “Defining and Contesting Illness”, with a more narrowed focus on “Cancer”. Each article that was assigned pertained to the topic of “Cancer”, however, each article had certain focuses within cancer, such as the financial implications of screening for cancer, and the influence of media such as magazines on the topic of cancer in men and how this impacts their masculinity. In addition to this, some of the articles looked at the psychological state of women and its relationship to cancer, the deadliness of cancer, and its impact on the Indian population.

In Mandy Hadenko’s article “The Challenge of Developing and Publicizing Cervical Cancer Screening Programs: A Canadian Perspective”, she looks at screening for cervical cancer. It is noted that, “prior to the mid-1960s and the advent of Medicare Canadian women had to pay for preventive health care… it was extremely difficult for health officials to convince women who felt perfectly healthy to pay for cancer screening”[1]. The financial burden to get screened for cervical cancer made many women opt out of this, however, resulting in many women having cervical cancer only to find out too late. However, “once fully funded health care system was in place in the 1960s, the prevention of cervical cancer seemed easier and more financially feasible for all Canadian women”[2]. Cancer is a serious illness that effects many Canadians in the past and in present times. This topic of cancer and this article sheds light on this devastating and life changing disease and how it can hep us to better understand health in Canadian history.

Continuing on, in Rachelle Miele and Juanne Clarke’s article “‘We Remain Very Much the Second Sex’: The Constructions of Prostate Cancer in Popular News Magazines, 200-2010”, they discuss how prostate cancer is portrayed in news magazines. It is noted that “prostate cancer is one of the most common male cancers affecting hundreds of thousands of men in North America mostly over the age of 50”[3]. This illness much like other illnesses and diseases are portrayed through the media targeting health and gender. This form of cancer effects males, so the media heavily focuses on masculinity and health. In comparison to women, the article states that “dominant forms of masculinity affect the health habits of men, their actions, and how they understand particular conditions [such as prostate cancer]… [and] masculinity prescribes that men are more likely than women to adopt certain behaviors that increase their health risks”[4]. The issues of health and gender is evident to see because “as magazines focus on the threat to masculinity, prostate cancer is portrayed as gendered”[5], thus “prostate cancer is constructed as a direct threat to masculinity and manhood”[6]. The illness of prostate cancer is an excellent example of how gender and gender expectations can be intertwined with health and how health is perceived and dealt with.

Still looking at cancer, Patricia Jasen’s article “Malignant Histories: Psychosomatic Medicine and the Female Cancer Patient in the Postwar Era”, she discusses a different approach to the development of cancer in people. “During the 1950s, researchers conducted a series of studies, in American clinics and hospitals, aimed at determining what psychological factors might be associated with the development of certain cancer”[7]. A section of the article looks as “the links between cancer and psychological deviancy in women during the 1950s”[8]. Many studies found links between psychological characteristics and cancer, for instance “cervical cancer patients… were more anxious and excitable”[9] whereas “breast cancer patients… [had] minimal anxiety”[10]. This article gives us some interesting information about cancer linked to mental health and the mental state of women, and an interesting concept of “cancer personality”. These pieces of information are key in understanding different aspects and ideas behind cancer and how this influences health in Canadian history.

In Wendy Mitchinson’s article “The Womanly Body: A Cancer Threat”, she looks at how deadly and detrimental the disease of cancer is and its effects on women. “Early in the century physicians considered it a ‘dreaded disease’ with an ‘insidious nature’, resulting in ‘suffering and great mortality’”[11]. It is noted that “cancer was a frightening disease and physicians resorted to heroic measures to treat it… [such as] injections of alcohol, turpentine, acetic acid… venom of a cobra, the application of calcium carbide and the administration of certain drugs”[12], however, in later years the use of surgery and radiation therapy began to be greatly known to help treat cancer. Both cervical and breast cancer greatly effected the woman body, “cervical cancer was one of the most common cancers in women… and its mortality rate was high- second only to cancer of the breast”[13]. Cancer is a deadly disease in woman, however, some treatment options such a surgery and ways to prevent or help the early detection of cancer has come a long way. This article gives us information on the detrimental disease of cancer and its relationship with health and the womanly body. It gives us a better understanding of how health is such an important aspect in our lives and how something as severe as cancer can do to our lives and health.

Finally, in the article “Cancer Surveillance in a Remote Indian Population in Northwestern Ontario” by T. Young and John Frank, looks at an Indian population in Northwest Ontario and looked at a variety of cancers that impacted the population. It is noted that “Indian men were at half the risk of developing and dying from cancer compared to Canadian men, while among women the risks were similar”[14]. “The most outstanding feature was the high mortality rates of kidney cancer in both sexes… gallbladder cancer was of importance in females… lung cancer in men, breast cancer in women, skin in both sexes, [and others] such as colon and prostate”[15]. These cancers were detrimental to the Indian population in Ontario. The article noted a variety of ways that increased the risk of developing one of the cancers, such as, “high meat diet, high cholesterol diet and obesity, the trace of the element cadmium, smoking, and coffee”[16]. This article gives us key information when trying to understand cancer in Canadian history and the possible risks associated with cancer, such as smoking, which is still a risk factor of cancer nowadays. This article gives us light on how cancer is greatly related to health and how the noted risks in the article can be minimized with better health of the individual.

All five of these articles discuss the topic of cancer. The first article looked at the financial implications of screening for cervical cancer and how publicizing screening can positively impact the health of women. The second article discussed the influence of magazines on health, in particular, prostate cancer and how this impacts masculinity and manhood. The third article gave information regarding the mental state of women and how that can be related to the development of cancer. The fourth article discusses how cancer is a deadly threat to the woman body and explains different treatment options for cancer. Finally, the fifth article looks at an Indian population and how cancer is detrimental to the population and how health plays a key role in the decreased risks of cancer.

 

Endnotes:

[1] Mandy Hadenko, “The Challenge of Developing and Publicizing Cervical Screening Programs: A Canadian Perspective,” in Cheryl Krasnick Warsh (Ed), Gender, Health and Popular Culture: Historical Perspectives, Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2011: 128.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Richelle Miele and Juanne Clarke, “‘We Remain Very Much the Second Sex’: The Constructions of Prostate Cancer in Popular News Magazines, 2000-2010,” American Journal of Men’s Health, 8, 1 (2014): 15.

[4] Ibid., 16.

[5] Ibid., 16-17.

[6] Ibid., 16.

[7] Patricia Jasen, “Malignant Histories: Psychosomatic Medicine and the Female Cancer Patient in the Postwar Era,” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, 20, 2 (2003): 266.

[8] Ibid., 267.

[9] Ibid., 277.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Wendy Mitchinson, “The Womanly Body: A Cancer Threat,” in Body Failure: Medical Views of Women, 1900-1950, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013: 215.

[12] Ibid., 217.

[13] Ibid., 219.

[14] T. Young and John Frank, “Cancer Surveillance in a Remote Indian Population in Northwestern Ontario,” The American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 73, No. 5 (1983): 515.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid., 519.

 

Bibliography:

Hadenko, Mandy. “The Challenge of Developing and Publicizing Cervical Screening Programs: A Canadian Perspective.” In Cheryl Krasnick Warsh (Ed), Gender, Health and Popular Culture: Historical Perspectives. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2011: 127-152.

Jasen, Patricia. “Malignant Histories: Psychosomatic Medicine and the Female Cancer Patient in the Postwar Era.” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, 20, 2 (2003): 265-297.

Miele, Richelle and Juanne Clarke. “‘We Remain Very Much the Second Sex’: The Constructions of Prostate Cancer in Popular News Magazines, 2000-2010.” American Journal of Men’s Health, 8, 1 (2014): 15-25.

Mitchinson, Wendy. “The Womanly Body: A Cancer Threat.” In Body Failure: Medical Views of Women, 1900-1950. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013: 215-238.

Young, T. and Frank, John. “Cancer Surveillance in a Remote Indian Population in Northwestern Ontario.” The American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 73, No. 5 (1983): 515-520.

 

Reflection:

I decided to incorporate this reading analysis into my ePortfolio because it touches on the ideas of medical experts and their influences and impacts on people in terms of health. Medical experts looked at cancer in different ways and tried to help the health of the individuals in any way. This can be seen through the articles that discuss treatment of cancer with the use of different drugs, injections, or some unsettling things such as the venom of a cobra or the injection of alcohol. Not only did experts have ideas on how to treat cancer, but they also had ways that could possibly prevent it and help the overall health of the individual. This would include, staying away from smoking and coffee. These medical experts greatly influenced the individual because they tried to tell people what to do to help with their health, and they also tried to administer what they thought would help them with their health and any illnesses they had, such as cancer. Overall, the addition of this reading analysis in my ePortfolio helped me to further explain the impact medical experts had on the individual.