Services Learning: Breast Cancer, Essay Example

One of the biggest epidemics that are affecting women across the world is the alarmingly increase in numbers of women that are diagnosed with breast cancer. Millions of women around the world are affected by this disease and millions more of family members and friends are affected as well. The most important parts of bringing awareness to the seriousness of this disease are by volunteering. The purpose of service learning projects are to teach, learn, and reflect on experiences and events that combine not only the academic side of the classroom, but through a meaningful service that serves the greater community. Service learning projects are supposed to enrich the individual’s learning experience through education of civic responsibility and lifelong engagement within the community. In order to serve a greater purpose within the community, I sought out to be a breast cancer volunteer.

As an individual that is has been affected by the awfulness and anger that comes with losing a family member to breast cancer, I felt that it was my duty to become a part of an opportunity to bring awareness and help to raise funding for breast cancer research. Selecting this type of service learning project was a no-brainer. As a nursing student, it is not only duty, and responsibility to teach, educate, and bring awareness to the serious issue that is effecting the world. On two separate occasions, I went out to volunteer. I first volunteered on October 3, 2013 with Winthrop University Hospital Breast Health Center working in a booth in Roosevelt Field Mall for five hours. My responsibilities consisted up distributing information such as pamphlets, flyers, pins, and pens to passersby, and those that would stop to inquire about the booth. More importantly I was able to accept numerous donations for funding to the breast health center, even from people that did not know someone with breast cancer. Over the course of the five hours working in the booth, I was able to communicate with several people that were kind enough to share their personal stories about survival, or about someone that they who was significantly affected by cancer. The second time I volunteered was on October 20, 2013, I attended Jones Beach State Park to participate in their Breast Cancer Walk in order to fundraise and help fight cancer by volunteering my time. I spent five hours where I not only participated in the walk, but contributed by handing out water to the walkers, setting up booths and tents for walkers, and help spread the word to come out and walk. In total, I volunteered for 10 hours exceeding what was required because it had a significant impact on me.

The learning outcomes that I got out volunteering these hours were beyond what I initially thought. I have volunteered before in several organizations, and as a student has educated myself on the impact of breast cancer, but I was not aware of the resilience of not only the survivors but also their support groups. The kindness of strangers is nothing to be shortchanged as they gave openly not only as I volunteered in the mall but also during the breast cancer walk. During the service learning experience, I was able to meet many if, not hundreds of individuals that freely shared their personal stories, and their feelings on the impact that organizations and volunteers were doing to help battle breast cancer. As someone that has been affected it was touching to hear all these stories from people that felt like I did, and wanted to make a difference anyway they could. I learned a great deal from this experience, every little effort counts to be a blessing in eyes of breast cancer survivors and battlers.

In my time volunteering, I not only educated others, but educated myself with the cause and effects of breast cancer. It is acknowledged that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed while the direct cause of breast cancer is unclear there are several risk factors that make more women than others at-risk for developing the disease. The two genes that are primarily responsible are BRCA1 and BRCA2. A majority of women 50 and over will likely be diagnosed than younger women, and the trend continues in demographics where a higher number of cases are African American, and a family history of breast cancer. The effects of breast cancer can lead to several issues including tumors, fatigue, pain, and other effects that lead to immediate treatment whether caught early or late. The survival rate of women being diagnosed with breast cancer is increasing as researchers and doctors are starting to get a better understanding of cancer and treatment options. One of the best options of something that I not only preached while I volunteered but is a primary focus is the benefits of early detection. It has been proven that women that get mammograms have a significant chance of reducing death from breast cancer. Women must be screen often and are compliant with recommendations of the doctor. Women should be screened every three years starting at the age of 20, with annual breast exams at the age of 40. Those that are categorized as higher risks should go in for screenings, in order to detect any signs of breast cancer. Early detection is a benefit from stopping the disease from spreading and improving chances that the treatment will work.

Overall, my service learning experience, was rewarding. Not only was I able to exceed the hours required, but I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering to spread awareness and raise donations to help with breast cancer research and studies. The walk and the booth was a chance to interact with hundreds of individuals from several background share their personal stories of tragedy, bravery, and survivorship in order to connect to helping the cause. As much I as thought I would just be doing a normal volunteer for a cause that I could relate to, I gained so much more as the service learning not only educated me, but significantly impacted me that I wanted to give more of my time. Even outside of the course, I plan to continue to volunteer more of my time to raise awareness, and to encourage more women and families to get early screening in order to catch the disease at an earlier time.