PRINT: Arts.& Culture
C ancer
s trik e s
REAL HEALTH
Jesse Henningpr
Arts & Culture Editor
One third o f all women
and one half o f all men will
develop cancer. For an uniair
percentage o f oura world
populous, the opportunity
to knock on Heaven’s door
manifests as one o f many
forms o f cancer.
Canter has become
the norm. Outranked by
heart disease and smoking-
related illnesses in annual
death tolls, cancer remains
prevalent
w orldw ide.
Cancer is evolving into
an everyman topic. We are
all familiar with the major
cancer types, including some
practically unbeatable can
cers. How has cancer affect-.
ed your life?
Whenever I getme^ »
react. Visiting doctors, buy
ing medication and taking
eveiy additional measure I
can to aid in a swifter recov
ery, wil hour infeelwg others.
These kinds o f measures are
imprinted in our brains and
become reflexes as we age.
Ailments like colds, sinus
infections, strep throat are
quickly and easily treated.
But when the diagnosis is
indeed cancer, time stops. >
We are thrust into an
uncomfortable limelight,
both foreign and potentially
terrifying. A diagnosis o f this
magnitude will often shake
a person emotionally. Why?
Well there are only two can
cer routes available: the route -
that leads to recovery and the
route where cancer prevails.
If you are able to fight
the cancer, there are many
additional challenges within
the battle. Should the cancer
be untreatable or have pro- ,
gressed past a treatable point,
then specific challenges also
exist
It can also be a catalyst
for new understanding,
acceptance and change i n .
our lives.
I low do we make sure
that we come out on top? -
One simple answer: Be
prepared. Not one o f us is
impervious to the butterfly
effects that come from life’s
“impossible” challenges.
T
The
information
is
available. All the steps are
mapped out already. The
steps to prevent illness (as
best we can) have been there,
but we haven’t bothered to
apply them, at all. Being
prepared has become more
simple just by being able
to know your family his
tory and genetics and check?
out books and newspapers
for the newest treatments
and alternative treatments.
The Internet is your friend,
everything you could want to
know about cancer preven
tion methods and numerous
agencies o f support for those
in need are available.
Cancer (or any other
scary, life-threatening ill
ness) does not need to be the
depressing, daunting, fear-
mongering monster any
more. Becoming responsible
for our own health through
education, prevention and
actually using our resources
is the best prescription for a
healthy being, with or with
out cancer.
Wednesday, October30,2013 *<*
3
National Novel Writing Month frees the
minds of writers and readers alike
Sequoia Allen
The Clackamas Print
All across the world, hundreds
o f thousands o f people are get
ting ready: sharpening pencils,
stockpiling Halloween candy —
and perhaps even cleaning up
their .desks. They purchase fresh
typewriter ribbons and cross the
days o ff their calendars in breath
less anticipation o f Nov 1.
It’s not the apocalypse they’re
preparing for, although there may
well be zombies involved. No,
these eager masses await the beg
inning o f N ational Novel Writing
Month, or NaNoWriMo for short.
A t this time every year, the ink
and the coffee start flowing and
it w on’t stop until December. All
strive tow ard a common goal:
to write 50,000 words in one
m onth’s time. M any w on’t make
it to the finish line, while others
will surpass it. Regardless, all
will come away w ith something
special — it’s up to each partici
pant what they will create.
All genres and skill-levels
are welcome. M any participants
return year after year, every
one from school children to sea
soned wordsmiths. Every year
many college students also take
the plunge. According to Steven
G enise, N aNoW riM o events
and development associate, last
year around 133,000 participants
were between the ages o f 18 and
29. There are even people here
at CCC who — in the coming
month — will be diving head
long into writing a novel.
it
To write a novel, you
need to have read a hun
dred. ”
Tae Gordon
Head of CCC writing club
Among these is faculty m em
ber Tae Gordon, who heads up
the waiting club here at CCC.
Although she pointed out that
NaNoW riM o has its potential
weaknesses, such as emphasiz
ing. quantity over quality, she
¿aid that NaNoW riMo can be an
effective tool for many people
because it helps one get used to
writing regularly.
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“Like anything, writing has
to be practiced,” Gordon said,
“[NaNoWriMo] is good for keep
ing you on schedule.”
Some m ight question the
sanity o f such an endeavor as
NaNoW riM o. W hile challeng
ing, it’s far from impossible, and
some notable published nov
els have come from the event,
mcluding the book “Water for
Elephants” by Sara Gruen, to
name ju st one. Through local
w rite-ins, w ord-count trackers
and online forums, NaNoW riMo
provides external motivation and
community support to ambitious
novelists, and can be a very use
ful writing tool, not to mention a
ton o f fun.
T here’s nothing quite like
knowing that you’re writing a
novel in 30 days at the same time
as 341,375 other people, which
was the number o f people who
participated last year. That’s not
even counting the 82,554 oth
ers who participated through the
Young W riter’s Program for ages
17 and under.
I f you’re interested in novel
writing, NaNoW riMo is an inter
esting program to look into.
More information can be found
at nanowrimo.org. In the m ean
while, there are many resourc
es for waiters here on campus.
M any different writing and liter
ature classes are offered at CCC,
as well as the Writers Club and
a mini waiting conference which
takes place every spring. Trevor
Dodge, who teaches fiction w rit
ing, shared some o f his advice
for fitting regular writing into a
busy schedule:
“Just make your mind up that
you’re going to do it,” he said.
“There are a million reasons, and
a lot o f times really, really good
ones, not to w rite... But the pri
mary reason that trumps all those
other million reasons is, that you
want to do it.”
Eric Bronsen is a m em ber
o f the W riters’ Club and takes
classes at CCC. He has created
four full-length works o f fan fic
tion and over 60 short stories to
date. He adds that it’s important
not to “allow [your writing] com
mitm ent to upset you. Writing is
hard work, and too many people
give it up w hen it becomes even
a small burden.”
Dodge uses tools like daily
word prom pts and email rem ind
ers to keep him self going, and
Tae Gordon recommends reading
as much as possible. She con
tends that “to write a novel, you
need to have read a hundred.”
Fundamentally though, Gordon,
Dodge and Bronsen a lt agree;
making time to write every day
is vitally important.
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