After watching the "Body Burdens"video with Anderson Cooper, the results of the fictional lab test felt even heavier than when I initially read over them before watching the video. I think its always scarier when you see/hear someone in a white lab coat discuss serious topics like your reproductive health or your likeliness to test positive for cancer. Every time we watch a video like this regarding some new area of environmental health, I'm always appalled at how often I hear the words "We just don't know" when talking about the effects of these chemicals on human health. The chasm of uncertainty is overwhelmingly frightening!
Out of the list provided in my fictional lab test, the scariest result for me was the carcinogens. I'm seriously paranoid about getting cancer; so much so that I don't even like to talk/write about it because I'm afraid I'll jinx myself. I realize that's ridiculous (one of the few things in this world that probably can't give me cancer, is talking about getting cancer) - but then I think "why even risk it!". I think I am also very concerned about carcinogens because I am aware of the staggering cancer statistics in Marin county. I'd be very interested in going through the body burdens test for real, but I can't even begin to imagine how much anxiety my test results would cause me.
Hi Alex,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the unknown is a scary thought when talking about the effects of different chemicals. In what ways have you taken precaution so your risk of cancer is lower?
I'm with you on being extremely scared of cancer. It's a word no one liked to hear. This chronic disease runs in my family on my moms side, therefore, now that I am more aware on how we may be exposed to carcinogens, I am now more pre-cautious on products that I purchase weather it be personal care or house cleaning products. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteResponse: Christina
ReplyDeleteI think both Brianna and I both expressed the same sentiment as you with this assignment - these results would be terrifying and a fear of cancer seems to be at the forefront of all of our minds. It seems like the more we know, the more we understand these threats, the scarier they become and yet now we have tools to make more informed decisions and protect ourselves.
Response: Brianna
Similar to what I said to Christina above - the fear we all felt with this exercise is clear! The deeper we get in to this class, the more the reality of these threats set in. I'll be interested to see how we all wrap this up and if we feel more empowered when we're through with this.