Research Memo #1

 

Hypothesis:

Many people do not consider the emotional and psychological toll breast cancer can have on a person, so I ask the question, "Which affects a person the most that is diagnosed with breast cancer, the psychological or emotional toll it has on their mind and body?" My hypothesis shows it affects a person both psychologically, physically, and emotionally because it takes control over them. The conscious feeling of knowing breast cancer is present will drive a person insane. This plays a part emotionally and psychologically because they think the breast cancer is what is killing them. In all honesty, some people do not realize constant worrying is what really kills a person with breast cancer.  

Context:     

I conducted research by taking personal experience from my grandmother when she got diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 and compared it to the research I found online. Both provided helpful information that was credible, yet the information differed. I was bias towards the information available to me. I favored my grandmother's information a little more because she experienced it and her story was real. My grandmother's information was more precise rather than the information presented to me online because it more statistics and facts and it did not answer the question posed in my hypothesis above. When I first conducted my survey, I targeted it towards females ages 20-50, but as I went on to hand out the surveys I realized males could also get breast cancer and that would make my research a little more concise. I also realized that an age group was not needed because a lot of teenagers at Early College High School knew or was related to someone who has/had breast cancer and that information was helpful to me.

Results:

Figure 1: Breast Cancer Respondents

	African American	Caucasian
Gender	8 out of 25 female	15 out 25 female 2 out of 25 male
How likely is it for women and men to get breast cancer on a scale from 1-10	3 out of 8 said that it was very likely to get breast cancer 5 out of 8 said that it was likely to get breast	1 out of 17 said that it was very likely to get breast cancer. 16 out of 17 said that it was likely to get breast cancer
How does breast cancer affect a person?	8 out of 25 said that it affects a person emotionally, psychologically, and physically.	17 out of 25 said that it affects a person emotionally, psychologically, and physically.
Was the cost of breast cancer an issue?	6 out of 8 said cost was an issue 2 out of 8 said cost was not an issue	7 out of 17 said cost was an issue 10 out of 17 said cost was not an issue.

   

Data Analysis:

 Community data shows, breast cancer affects Caucasians more so than African Americans. So based on the community results I can say breast cancer is reciprocal in only Caucasians.  Based on the data I found, both races think that it is likely for both female and male to get breast cancer, meaning on a scale from 1-10 the most common circled answered was a 7. Excluding, those that have breast cancer, they thought it was extermely likely to get breast cancer meaning on a scale from 1-10 their answer was a 10. I also conducted from my research that breast cancer affects both African American's and Caucasians physically, emotionally and psychologically. When asking if cost an issue, answers differed. 6 out of 8 African American's who took the survey said cost and finances was a problem because insurance could not cover all the expenses, while the other 2 African American's said cost and finances was not a problem. The number of Caucasians who answered cost was not an issue was 10 out 17 and those that answered different were 7 out 17 that cost was an issue because of insurance and other financial issues.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, my strongest point was notorious and has affected many individuals and their family and friends. As I stated in my hypothesis, people believe breast cancer affects one's mind and body psychologically, physically, and emotionally. Honestly,this survey was incredibly helpful and informative because it gave me insight on how breast cancer affects different people.

Follow up:

Finally, the surveys are complete I will continue on with my research, so now I can inform others about breast cancer. I will be explaining how and what causes breast cancer and how to prevent it. Also, I will be going further into how breast cancer affected my grandmother and our family, from the downfalls to the uprisings of it all.