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Narrowed Essential Question: What are the short and long term psychological effects of breast cancer, and how do different families cope?
Preliminary Thesis: Although the initial devastation of a family member being diagnosed is dramatic and tragic, it takes years to recover from the initial shock of the diagnosis and/or the later death of a loved one.
 {The Psychological Impact of Breast Cancer 2.pptx}

{The Psychological Impact of Breast Cancer.pptx}

Victoria Reynolds
December 6, 2010
Block D – Senior Thesis
Second Research Product - Documentary
What: A documentary addressing the effects of a breast cancer diagnosis, incorporating facts and statistics from my sources, while also using interviews from my family members and neighborhood families to support my argument, or to oppose it.
Storyboard:
· Opening sequences of happy families, bright skies, open fields
· Background information, as specified on outline
· Introduction of thesis statement an essential question
· Introduction of First Argument
o Breast Cancer alters the family unit’s identity, including roles and daily functioning. These changes have long-lasting effects, regardless of the outcome of the disease
o Personal interview with myself and my sister, showing how the family changed once my mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer
o Incorporate facts in between interviews
§ “Family members especially spouses, can have disturbances, eating disorders, heightened anxiety and depression, and a sense of helplessness, and fears about cancer and its treatment” (Albrecht)
§ “Receiving a breast-cancer diagnosis has a persistent deleterious effect on a woman’s physical, emotional, and psychological well-being, even as many as 10 years later” (Moyer)
§ “Ten years after being diagnosed with breast cancer, 76% of the respondents were still under specialist surveillance. Most of the respondents reported that they still had problems related to their breast cancer… [t]hese problems were more marked in women who were younger than 50 years old at the time of diagnosis” (Moyer)
· Introduction of Second Argument
o All cancer is damaging, yet breast cancer effects womanhood and sexual function. The loss of a breast can be difficult to recover from, making this disease especially difficult to recover from.
o Interview with Emily Hunsicker, discussing the fear/other reactions she had to her own diagnosis and how she feels about a mastectomy
o Incorporate facts in between interview
§ “The absence of a breast alters one’s body image, visibly destroying a woman’s mental image of herself” (Khoo)
§ “Found that an even greater concern among patients and husbands than the loss of a breast was the fear of cancer itself. The sense of unpredictability and heightened uncertainty of the disease course and the experience of the disease itself add to the lack of control and resulting helplessness felt by the patient and spouse” (Albrecht)
§ “Both spouses and patients reported significantly lower scores on marital consensus, marital satisfaction, and marital cohesion when compared to a community sample of married respondents.” (Albrecht)
· Introduction of Third Argument
o Breast cancer damages the mind as well as the body, and can cause severe psychological illness
o Interview with Mrs. Halligan, Emily, Emily’s sister, how they feel about this topic incorporating their experience
o Incorporate facts in between interviews
§ “One in four women had significant psychological symptoms 12 months after a mastectomy… depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction” (Fahy)
§ “4 out of 5 patients referred were diagnosed as suffering psychological reactions to their illness, and half… were severe enough to be classified as psychiatric illnesses” (Fahy)
§ “Surgery is much easier to recover from than the psychological effects” (Khoo)
· Introduction of Fourth Argument
o Women who have family members who have contracted breast cancer tend to overestimate their risk in contracting breast cancer, showing the damage the disease causes
o Interview with my aunts, how their sister’s diagnosis effected them, interview with myself and how I feel about my personal chance to contract breast cancer (especially because mine is genetic)
o Incorporate facts in between interviews
§ “Overall, the majority of women overestimated their personal risk, and less than 25% correctly estimated it, and less than 25% underestimated it” (Neise)
§ “Families also matter because family members, and not just the patient, are directly confronted with the illness experience.” (Albrecht)
§ “Lewis has conducted a number of studies examining the impact of breast cancer on children in the family. These studies showed that increased illness… resulted in increased levels of depression for both the patient and husband. These depression levels negatively affected marital adjustment… (which caused) the family to cope less frequently with their problems. When the couple reported lower marital quality or coped less frequently, the total household functioning declined.” (Albrecht)
· Final Conclusion
o Incorporate personal interview segments that sum up the idea of my thesis, slides with some facts on them, and then a final statement on breast cancer

§ Belief that losing a breast means losing a part of your femininity
o Fear of Seeking Treatment
the truth

VictoriaVictoria ReynoldsNovember 8,
First Research Product - Animoto
What: An Animoto video about the facts of breast cancer, how it can be prevented, and how it has been perceived by women across the nation.
§ Belief that losing a breast means losing a part of your femininity
o Fear of Seeking Treatment
the truth