The effects on women This blog's focus will be dedicated to looking at a particular angle when it comes to opioid abuse, harm and usage. The lens shall be viewed in which we focus on how women are affected, particularly those with breast cancer. Breast cancer and its effects has been prevalent in my mother's life, coming up twice, one in each breast. It has robbed a lot from her, especially her overall health. It could have turned far more worse and serious had my mom, who had to endure the painful and grueling process of chemotherapy, decided to either abuse opioids, or fallen into the addiction of them. But why is this specifically important, and how is it intersectional? According to American Addiction Centers, here is what is found about the difference in sexes, and how women, in certain contexts, have it worse: Men are more likely than women to use the illicit opioid heroin during the past 30 days, however, women are more likely than men to use other opioids, such as prescription pain relievers. Women are also more likely than men to experience chronic pain and be prescribed prescription pain relievers. Women use prescription opioid pain medications for longer periods and are prescribed higher doses than men. ( Link to Source: HERE ) Cancer always had painful side effects, whenever while still with cancer, under current treatment, and post-treatment of said cancer. The processes in which can lead to muscular, nerve and ache pains, either constant or acute. This in turn had lead doctors to prescribe various medications, but more commonly opioids, and many kinds of them too. A list of just how extensive these opioids can be can be found just below: ( Link to the list: HERE ) Breast cancer, and women who take opioids also come at various ages. It shows that middle aged women, ages between 40-59, are much more likely to use/over-use opioids, bringing in the age angle into the intersectional issue as well. They also switch and use opioids faster and use it for longer periods of time too. While research has been sparse into how opioids affect women in very specific situations, there was one research article about specifically breast cancer. While access to the article was closed to me, their conclusion said that the chances of a 'second' or re-occurrence of breast cancer emerging in a breast cancer survivor is, and I quote "nonsignificantly higher" is negligible when comparing women who chronically use opioids vs. nonchronically. ( Link to the article: HERE ) ( Myths and Facts Link: HERE ) ( Cancer.Gov Link: HERE ) ( Women and Opioid Link: HERE ) One of the organizations that is taking aim at the intersectionality of women and opioids is National Women's Health Network. They have a large networking operation that collects information on the patterns and ways women have been using and affected by opioids. Another huge wealth of information, on the who, what, where, how and whys are also found in an article by Healthline. Another repository of information is found in my community of Maryland at Maryland Department of Health. Their focus is directed into how opioids can impact pregnancies. However, while there appears to be a promise of wealth of information, there seems to be a couple of noticeable gaps. For one, no clear action or impact is stated as how any one organization has accomplished, or for that matter any extensive scientific research into women and opioids, let alone any of the complex issues that could arise in women with, and post breast cancer. There also seems to be a lack of information of racial demographics too. In order to bring meaningful and hopefully lasting change to better women's health, I'll conclude with an article by Heather Zoller, who writes about social justice and women's health. Other than highlighting the difficulties that women have faced in the equity of health care, she also brings up the politics and lack thereof of specialized research into women's problems. Heather Zoller says the following: Unfortunately, major public health institutions fail to engage adequately with the social contexts of health and avoid controversial political issues, preferring to locate the prevention of illness with the individual. Dominant discourses attribute every health problem—cancer, heart disease, arthritis, you name it—to problems of individual choice-making... Although individual agency is critical to managing our health, feminist perspectives must make clear that individual choices cannot be separated from the social, political, and structural contexts that constrain or enable better health (pp. 75) Citation: Zoller, H. (2010). Communicating Women’s Health Activism: A Social Justice Agenda. Women & Language, 33(2), 73–79. Perma-link: HERE To hopefully address the growing concern for women and opioids, especially for those suffering with something as awful as breast cancer, I want to bring attention to Cancer and Opioid Awareness, my tentative title to the issue at hand. Yes, I wish to focus breast cancer, but I also feel it is just equally as important to also hone in on both the problems that cancer can bring, and the dangers that opioids have when misused or mishandled. By including as many dynamics into challenging the opioids crisis can we as a society move forward into ending the crisis, for we cannot leave anyone else behind in the death wake of overdosing on opioids, and they especially shouldn't have to suffer more agony than they already are if they are going through cancer.
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Senior at Salisbury University, working towards a Bachelor's on Community and Professional Communication. |