The
Rhetoric of Cancer is a documentary podcast of BBC, narrated by a man named
Andrew Graystone, who himself is a victim of cancer. He talks about here his
journey in his search for finding the right language to use when talking about
cancer; for the masculine, military language people often use seems to liken
cancer to this enemy of the body and the body as this warzone for this fight,
this battle between the cells of the body and the body of the man.
In this journey, he meets with Dr. Wendy Makin of Christie
Hospital, the hospital he was diagnosed in, to discuss how clinicians talk
about cancer to their patients. He then meets with Natasha Hill, a director of
brand and strategic marketing at Cancer Research UK to talk about the language
used in advertising campaigns. He also discusses with Michael Overduin of the
School of Cancer Sciences in Birmingham University about the language used upon
discussing cancer at a research level. He also meets with Jim Cotter, a priest
and writer who is also a victim of leukemia. And lastly, he shares all of his
findings with theologian Dr. Paula Gooder who has a special interest about our
relationships with our bodies, illness and death.
Personally, what I liked the most
about it was learning how cancer affected the lives of various people, not only
those who became victims of it but to those who research about it, study it,
diagnose it, etc. It affected those who have cancers themselves in the worst
way, but it also somehow was a gift to them. Like how Andrew described it, it
was like an unwelcome visitor to their lives, to their bodies who might lead
them to their death but might also lead them to this enlightened life to live
their lives to the fullest. In one way or another, they had to learn how to
live with cancer and not battle it for it’s just their own, it’s part of their
own bodies. Cancer is simply this visitor you want to be removed from your
body, these particular cells to simply leave you. But it is technically not to
be fought, not to be destroyed, because one way or another, it is part of you,
your body and essentially your life.
Audrey Anne A. Arocha
2012-51626
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