The Earlier the Better,”
“Dear Mary”
Scenario
Mary was 40 years old, a mother of two, and a successful entrepreneur. Fellow members of her women’s support group were about the same age and among the 33 percent of women over 40 in the U.S. who had not been screened for breast cancer in the past two years.
One day Mary and her friends were having coffee at an outdoor cafe when a large group of women dressed in pink marched down the street past them carrying signs reading “Get Screened,” “The Earlier the Better,” “Screening Saves Lives,” and “It’s Your Children Who Will Thank You the Most!”
Several of the women in Mary’s group made comments like, “I support their cause but I’m too young to get breast cancer;” “Mammograms are really expensive;” ” I hear they really hurt;” “It doesn’t run in my family;” and “I’m busy.”
The sign that grabbed Mary’s attention was the one about children: was she being a responsible mother? Should she be tested even though she has no symptoms and does periodic self-exams?
After coffee, Mary returned home and found a letter from her cousin, Cindy, waiting for her in the mailbox.
In your post you will assume the role of Cindy, who is roughly the same age as Mary, with children who are close in age to Mary’s children. Cindy recently tested positive for breast cancer:
- Incorporate what you have learned in this unit and in your own personal life and write a “Dear Mary” letter, making a case for her to get screened.
- Make the letter personal, so no internal text citations.
- Remember, you are still a practitioner/scholar. In your post to this discussion, at the end of the letter, place the references you used to support your case.
