Extra Credit Event 1

Last Thursday, I went to the Chemical Entanglements – Gender & Exposure hosted in UCLA. It is an eye-opening experience for me. The talk’s main theme is about the impact of chemicals on human populations (especially female). Through this talk, I learn about the importance of environmental protection and each person should take on his or her role in society.

Cancer is a sad thing. When people find out that they have cancer, they already suffer the pain from it. The cancer discussed in the presentation is breast cancer. Compared with other countries, United States has a high rate of breast cancer. Severe environmental condition is one of the main reasons for this unusual high rate. Not only women are affected by this high rate of breast cancer, but men also suffer from it. During the presentation, the researcher mentioned that she once talked with a marine, who used to live on the base. Due to environmental pollutions, he and 100 of his male colleagues suffer from breast cancer. Indeed, women in Japan have a low rate of breast cancer, but after they move to the United States, their rate of breast cancer increases. 

 I am very shocked when I hear this information because I have seen how breast cancer influences a woman’s life. I met this woman at a community shower place when I was ten. I saw the scars across her breast, and it was my time seeing those scars. She told my mother about her story. She was ashamed of her scars. Her husband left her because of the high cost of surgeries. With the divorce, she could not see her child anymore. Her experience is probably one of the worst scenarios, but breast cancer undeniably negatively influences a person’s life.

Another main topic of this presentation is that ocean pollution is severe, and some oceans are almost in plastic. In some area, the chemical structures inside water causes high breast cancer rate. One of the difficulties for solving this high breast cancer rate is that government ignores this problem. The chemicals may cheapen the products in people’s daily life, at the cost of high cancer risk. I think that it is a challenge, and citizens have power. I think that the best way to avoid cancer is through prevention. For example, people use recycled bags not plastic bags. Also, more researches are being done in breast cancer. For instance, breast cancer fund helps people to find out if they have breast cancer in their urine.

One very positive and healthy movement is that women has become more confident about their breast cancers now than they were before. Number of women (especially the younger ones) become flat and they are proud of it. They can go public about it as well.

The chemicals bring convenience to people’s life, and they seem to be unavoidable with the increasing population. However, I am positive that with the technology developments problems will be solved. Furthermore, the small actions which people do help with cancer.

I recommend this event to students even though I do not think there is a strong connection between art and this event. This event raises social awareness and is related with students’ daily life. Some aspects of life are ignored unless someone talks about them. This event is a talk of the ignored aspects.