Taking Action Against Chemicals

     Cancer. Nowadays, this word has become way too common. If you were to walk through the streets of Bridgewater State University and stop a random person and ask them if they have known anyone who has had cancer, there is a high chance you will receive yes as a response. Almost everyone has a relative or friend who at some point in time come into contact with the disease. In the chapter of the book we read this week, One in Every Four, Rachel Carson goes deep into this subject, talking about the rise of cancer in her day in age. The facts she left us with after reading that chapter, led me feeling very unsettled and afraid.
     The title of the chapter scares you automatically. How horrifying is it to think when you are in a room with a group of your friends, there is a high chance that one out of all four of you will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in your life? One of the stories that stuck with me the most, was the one about the women who was spraying her basement with DDT to get rid of spiders and began to experience unusual symptoms. What I could not understand was how she did it again and again, to the point where she ended up eventually developing leukemia and dying.
     You cannot hear something like that and not wonder how can someone be so oblivious? It is a scary thought to think of all the chemicals we are introduced to on a daily basis, but what is even scarier is the fact that we can be so brainwashed to what is truly bad for us as humans. Researching in class today, we found out chemicals like arsenic, which are in things so common as water bottles, can lead to different types of cancers. The government plays such a strong role on advertising what is safe and what is not, but eventually you have to take matters into your own hands. We need to be aware of what we are putting into our bodies because it has such a life long effect on us. We as a society need to take action now in order to prevent cancers from developing, rather than waiting till it is too late, and trying to erase the damage we caused.