Society of Death

     One thing that's been bothering me lately is how freely people joke about death. Actually, to be more specific, it's when people joke about dying from cancer or some other serious disease... but mostly cancer. I don't understand how death can be such a hilarious topic nowadays, and I most definitely don't understand how the word "cancer" can be thrown around so loosely. What happened to the fear of cancer and death? Is this just some sick way of trying to dispel people's fear? A few months ago, I was talking to a group of friends, and they were telling a story about what happened the previous day. One had been acting over-dramatic and said, "I'm dying of diarrhea and cancer!" And the other friend had just laughed at her. I don't remember the details. Still, simply recounting this short story made the others laugh, and I couldn't see what was so funny about it. It wasn't comical to me at all. People die of cancer every day, and my life has been largely affected by cancer. It's not a funny subject to me: it's serious and sad. Also, not even diarrhea should be joked about. In less developed countries, impoverished people are still dying of it daily because they don't have access to the medical help they need.
     Then, just the other day, my sister was telling a friend that it's a bad idea to be drinking energy drinks because of some harmful chemicals/ingredients put into them... We didn't mention cancer at all, but the friend said, "yeah, yeah. Everything causes cancer these days. It doesn't matter." That really shocked me. First off, since when does getting cancer not matter??? Second off, not EVERYTHING causes cancer. Furthermore, if someone actually took the time to think about what they really need in terms of food and beverages to stay healthy, they would see that many of those things can be bought without harmful ingredients added to them. It's really disappointing that a such a young girl can say these things without caring about how long she lives or what her own health is.
     I can't imagine myself ever not caring about my life or health. I had cancer when I was little, and I had to watch two friends die. Their names were Daniel and Jared. We (my sister and I) spent a lot of time with Jared, and it was depressing to see him slowly fading from this world. He had Leukemia, same as me, except it came back seven times for him. The last time we saw him was in the hospital. We visited his room because he was in bad shape. His mom gave us magazines to look at while she and our mom talked. We didn't get to talk to or play with Jared because he was asleep. When we walked up to his bedside to see him, he was sleeping without a shirt on, and we could see how skinny he was: how sick he looked. His ribs were very prominent and his eyes looked sunken. That was the last time we saw him; he died at 7 years old. That image sticks with me to this day, and I am incredibly insulted when people don't seriously consider how deadly cancer is, and how sad death is.
     Cancer has not only affected my childhood: just last year my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She got surgery, got time to heal, went through eight weeks of radiation, and is now (thankfully) in remission. Cancer is a constant tragedy/occurrence in my life, and I have close family friends who have also been affected by cancer. The fact that people can underestimate and make jokes about such a horrible thing is appalling. It makes me wonder: how did society become so careless about the health and well-being of people? I wonder, but then I look at social media, TV, and I've glimpsed the magazines my classmates look at. Bad influences are all around us, and we absorb it, barely taking notice of how we are being shaped by all of these things.
     Our society is a Society of Death. There are advertisements everywhere for unhealthy foods that have harmful chemicals meant only for pushing back expiration dates. Why do we allow companies to put these in the foods people eat everyday? In the United States, we have less than 20 deadly chemicals banned; in the UK, they have over 200. This is a drastic difference. Sure, the British smoke more, but they are more healthy than us Americans. They walk more, they have healthier food, etc. Violence and death are under-exaggerated and idolized in our country. The term "YOLO" has been quite popular for over a year now. This ridiculous acronym is used as a reason for people (esp. teens and young adults) to be involved in life-threatening, and sometimes illegal, activities. It's sad that we see ourselves as getting better and better by the decades, when standards of life are becoming so horrible.
     Please, take care of your health. Life is priceless, and should not be taken for granted. So many people suffer because they don't have options, while people in our country suffer because of their own ignorant decisions. You have the option, the means, to take care of yourself. For the sake of others, do it.