All of my life, the word cancer has surrounded me. We learn about it in a medical sense in school, we know people who’ve had it, and we know how deadly it is. The one thing we never expect though is that it will affect the ones that we love, the ones that we spend day in and day out with. I was one of those people, I never thought that cancer would become a word that was used in my daily vocabulary, but I was wrong.
When I was in 7th grade, my mom was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. The news was tough, but my mom proved that she was tougher. She took cancer’s hand, slammed it to the ground, and kicked it's ass out of our lives, and she did it with all the strength and determination that she had. My mother proved that the word cancer can show the strength and determination of those that are fighting this terrible disease, but those of you that use the word “cancer” as slang discredit that, and for the first time in my life, I am standing up to you and telling you that you need to stop.
My first experience with this disrespectful use of the word cancer was right after my mom was diagnosed. These girls were goofing around, and one of them accidentally punched the other in the chest. My other girl then proceeded to exclaim, “Don’t do that, you’re going to give me breast cancer”. The minute those words were said, tears started to well up in my eyes, and I had to step away so that these girls wouldn’t see me cry. What they had just said was so inconsiderate to the feelings of those that have family that have suffered or are suffering from cancer, and it hurts to this day when I think about it. They didn’t even realize that their joke was offensive, but then again, they had never experienced cancer on a personal level.
This wasn’t the first cancer joke I had heard, and it definitely wasn’t my last, yet each one affected me the same way. Every time someone said the words “You’re gonna give me cancer” or “____ is cancer”, my heart hurt a little more with each word. Of course, as a scared teenager, I didn’t say anything to these bullies (and yes, their words cause them to be bullies even if their bullying wasn’t direct), but instead held all the pain and anger I had about their actions inside.
But not anymore.
No longer will I let those who use the word cancer as slang get away with their actions. I won’t let these people act like bullies, and use a word that has so much strength behind it as an insult. Cancer is real, horribly devastating disease, not the butt of your immature, and frankly, not very funny joke. By using the word cancer as slang, you are disrespecting everyone in the world that has suffered, is suffering, or has had someone close to them that has been affected by this disease, even if your joke or comment wasn’t directly aimed at them. You’re insulting the struggle they endured, and the pain that came with it, and even though you may not be using it in a negative connotation, that still doesn’t make it ok.
Every time I hear the word cancer used as slang, it lights a fire in me so bright that I would light up a whole village, and the only thing I truly want to do is punch you square in the face. But I’m better than that, I’m better than you. I’m not a bully like you, I don’t use real diseases as a joke, and I don’t go around spewing out words when I have no idea what they truly mean. So instead, I will just tell you, very frankly, to just shut up, and tell you that your words are disrespectful and that I never want to hear you say the world cancer like that again. Instead, I’m going to make you think about what you just said, and let you decide for yourself if what you’re saying is ok, and nine times out of ten, you’ll realize you’re in the wrong.
The word cancer explains so much more than just a disease. It explains the pain, the triumph, the strength, the weakness, and the determination of those who have suffered. Cancer is not your joke, cancer is not your slang, and cancer definitely is not just a derogatory term you can throw around like candy at Halloween.
