Project 2 Final Draft
Kristen Swope
Mat Wenzel
ENC 2135
25 July 2017
Stronger Together
It was an average Tuesday evening in March. My father was cooking dinner, my mother was asking me how my classes went that day, and my brother was staring into his textbook with a puzzled look on his face. Usually our phones were relatively silent during dinner, but an abrupt ring startled us all from our typical evening routine. I remember my mother telling us that it was one of her best friends, and she preceded to go upstairs to take the call. As my dad finished up dinner, we noticed that my mother was still absent from the table. I was sent to inform her that dinner was ready, and when I stepped into her room, I noticed her eyes were red and watery. This phone call changed a typical evening into a solemn one. My mother’s best friend, who was also a close family friend, called to inform my mother that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Dinner that evening was extremely quiet, and we all were shaken up and shocked. Following the events of that night, our friend suffered through months of agonizing treatment. It was difficult for us all to watch, but we stood by her side while she battled until she could finally live a cancer free life.
Although any type of cancer can be deadly, “breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women, and one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime” ("About Breast Cancer"). Even though there is such a high percentage of women developing this type of cancer, there are still plenty of survivors like my mother’s best friend. “Death rates from breast cancer have been declining since about 1990, in part due to better screening and early detection, increased awareness, and continually improving treatment options” ("About Breast Cancer"). My mother’s best friend was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ. She performed a self-examination one day and noticed a few small lumps. She then went to the doctor, and they performed a biopsy and a mammogram. Once the biopsy came back, the physicians informed her that she had developed breast cancer. For patients who suffer from breast cancer, early detection is the key to fighting off the cancer. Most doctors agree that the most effective method for early detection is performing regular self-examinations (Guclu and Tabak 2). However, according to Guclu and Tabak, studies show that about one third of the female population is unaware or uneducated on breast cancer and how to properly examine oneself for the early warning signs. This can lead to the cancer spreading before a person even discovers they have developed it, and therefore is the reason for the high number of deaths (Guclu and and Tabak 4).
Being personally affected by breast cancer, I sought out education on the subject ranging from diagnosis to the variety of treatment options. I discovered an excessive amount of information on why cancer can occur and how to treat it, but I found little information on how to properly perform a breast examination on oneself and the importance of the examination on early discovery. Knowing that the reason my mother’s friend beat breast cancer was due to her early diagnosis and treatment, I vowed to do my part from that day forward to help spread awareness for breast cancer. Much of what I did throughout the remainder of my high school years involved wearing pink to sporting events and selling pink ribbons through clubs at school. I never felt like what I did was on a large enough scale to make an impact. Once I arrived at Florida State University and got my foot in the door, I discovered that each Panhellenic sorority was associated to a specific philanthropy. As I developed friendships with members of several different sororities, I furthered discovered that Zeta Tau Alpha’s philanthropy is Breast Cancer Awareness. This discovery fueled my desire to potentially join Zeta or to at least contribute to their philanthropy event this fall in the hopes that I can make an impact to a cause that is so close to my heart. I believe that the fall philanthropy event successfully promotes knowledge of breast cancer and helps survivors come to terms with their new life within the city of Tallahassee.
Zeta Tau Alpha is a Panhellenic sorority at Florida State University whose members devote their time and effort to support the cause of Breast Cancer Awareness. They perform two major philanthropy events, but the fall event is the event that brings in the most donations and support. This event is the Race to Live. Race to Live is a “5k that starts and ends at the Zeta Tau Alpha house and runs around FSU's campus”. Last year, Race to Live at Florida State University acquired over sixteen hundred runners and raised over seventy thousand dollars ("Chapter Philanthropy”). To learn more about the philanthropy event, I conducted an interview with current Zeta Tau Alpha member Cassandra Roditis to learn more about the topic. Cassandra is a new member and will be a junior in the fall. According to Cassandra, Zeta promotes the event by “using flyers, posting on social media, and by word of mouth”. She also stated that each member is responsible for obtaining a specific number of people to pay to run in the 5k. Each runner pays a fee which guarantees them a spot on the starting line and a t-shirt that is made each year by the current sisters of the sorority. Besides obtaining a specific number of runners, each sister is responsible for raising a specific amount of money from strictly donations. The specific number of runners and donations changes each year and is voted on by the sorority (Roditis).
This race seems successful in spreading awareness of breast cancer throughout a large city such as Tallahassee. Because the event is targeted at gaining runners from within the university, it gains a significant amount of attention on social media. Not only do hundreds of sorority sisters post about this event, the fellow runners and viewers of the race usually post pictures and videos on a variety of social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat. This alone can spread awareness, and studies show that social media is the up and coming venue of portraying the information needed to help prevent breast cancer in a form that can reach most people (Rosemary Thackeray 508). Additionally, the flyers themselves can spread awareness. According to Cassandra, the sisters usually attempt to design the flyers so that they feature a statistic regarding breast cancer. The flyers are not only posted throughout the university, but Zeta Tau Alpha’s FSU Instagram page features a version. Sometimes, the Panhellenic Instagram page for Florida State also features the flyer. Besides the flyers and social media aspect, the main way that this event successfully spreads breast cancer awareness is through the race itself. Participants to this event learn even more about breast cancer while running or cheering on runners due to the statistical facts that are displayed throughout the course (Roditis). Races such as this are carried out throughout the United States and have been shown to lead to an increased interest in discovering more about breast cancer throughout a majority of the participants (King 481).
Aside from spreading awareness for breast cancer, Zeta Tau Alpha’s Race to Live philanthropy event promotes a positive environment for survivors. As my mother’s friend suffered through radiation treatment and a lumpectomy, she seemed to lose her spirit and her radiant personality. After she overcame cancer, she had a difficult time coming to terms with her new life and finding a way to connect with people. Research shows that women who suffer from breast cancer experience feelings of loneliness and a decreased ability to develop meaningful relationships during and after treatment. Association with people who have overcome similar experiences can lead to feelings of worth and fulfillment (Marroquín 835). Race to Live provides an outlet for breast cancer survivors and women who currently have breast cancer to feel joy and to connect with a community of others. Cassandra discussed how the whole community comes together during this event including “moms, dads, sisters, and brothers”. She said that it is every sister’s favorite event because “ it is filled with smiles and good music”, and it makes her “feel proud to be a Zeta” knowing that her and her sisters are “helping hundreds of individuals a year while also celebrating the breast cancer survivors” (Roditis).
Every year, Florida State University’s Zeta Tau Alpha sisters create a video of the successful Race to Live event. This video reflects on the achievements of the event and promotes the race for the following year. On the Zeta FSU website, the first video featured is the “Race to Live 5k 2015” ("Chapter Philanthropy"). This video is four minutes and twenty eight seconds in length and shows, in detail, the emotions and people involved in the race. Incorporated into the film is Rachel Platten’s song “Fight Song”. This song encompasses the strength of all the women who fight or are fighting through breast cancer. It displays strong pathos by bringing out feelings of pride, strength, and motivation. During the video, the camera angle changes from overhead to straight on. It also occasionally zooms in on people and objects. The camera zooms in on the “in loving memory of” form, the raffle sign, the t-shirt made, and the survivor shirt. This camera affect is used to emphasize and add importance to the different aspects of the Race to Live event. Also, there is a portion of the video that shows a zoomed in version of the runner’s feet. This scene shows that Race to Live is about coming together as a community to make a difference for an important topic such as breast cancer. The zoom establishes that the event is not just the 5k, but a successful incorporation of one event with several subsiding venues for raising money and awareness. Another feature of the camera that is applied in this video is slow motion. Each portion of film is seen in slow motion and pieced together to create the bigger picture of the entire event. The use of slow motion makes the video more dramatic and helps it to be remembered. There are several groups of people displayed throughout the film as well. Sisters of Zeta are shown split into different groups. As mentioned by Cassandra, during the race, different groups of sisters are supposed to participate in different aspects of the race. Some sisters are responsible for the registration of the race and the handing out of t-shirts. Another group of sisters are responsible for receiving donations and handing out “in loving memory of” forms. The last group of sisters are responsible for cheering on the runners and standing at the finish line (Roditis). The other groups of people shown in slow motion are the survivors of breast cancer, men who ran in the event, and groups of women and children laughing. The incorporation of all types of different groups shows how successful this event is at creating a sense of community for the survivors and fighters. The ending of this video featured members from Zeta discussing the importance of this event to them and their sorority sisters. Overall, this video effectively motivates and persuades fellow students as well as citizens of Tallahassee to participate in Race to Live.
Breast cancer and breast cancer awareness is a topic that has touched my heart since two thousand and fourteen, and continues to shape how I live my life to this day. It is difficult for a single person to make a major impact when regarding a topic such as breast cancer. After previously attempting to do so throughout high school, I discovered that working as part of a larger group is more beneficial for such a large cause. I truly believe that Zeta Tau Alpha at Florida State University successfully brings together an entire community of people to share knowledge about breast cancer, to support breast cancer fighters, and to celebrate breast cancer survivors through its philanthropy event, Race to Live. I hope to join the Tallahassee community as well as the Zeta sisters this year in participating in the event. I truly believe that through this event, I can make a substantial impact for this cause and honor my mother’s best friend’s story of winning the battle against breast cancer.
Works Cited
"About Breast Cancer ", http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/types-of-breast-cancer.
"Chapter Philanthropy ", http://fsu.zetataualpha.org/chapter-philanthropy.
Guclu, Sultan, and Ruhi and Tabak. "Impact of Health Education on Improving Women’s Knowledge and Awareness of Breast Cancer and Breast Self Examination." The Journal of Breast Health, vol. 9, no. 1, 2013, pp. 1-6, http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=8d637e2c-e9ff-495b-8529-f2145b8cf672%40sessionmgr4006.
King, Samantha. "Pink Ribbons Inc: Breast Cancer Activism and the Politics of Philanthropy." International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, vol. 17, no. 4, 2004, pp. 473-492, CrossRef, http://www.tandfonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/doi/abs/10.1080/09518390410001709553, doi:10.1080/09518390410001709553.
Marroquín, Brett, et al. "Implicit Loneliness, Emotion Regulation, and Depressive Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors." Journal of Behavioral Medicine, vol. 39, no. 5, 2016, pp. 832-844, PubMed, http://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/pubmed/27287618, doi:10.1007/s10865-016-9751-9.
Rosemary Thackeray, et al. "Using Twitter for Breast Cancer Prevention: An Analysis of Breast Cancer Awareness Month." BMC Cancer, vol. 13, no. 1, 2013, pp. 508, ProQuest Health & Medical Complete (Alumni), http://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/pubmed/24168075, doi:10.1186/1471-2407-13-508.
Swope, Kristen. Interview. Edited by Cassandra Roditis. , 2017.