VOA标准英语2014--Foundation Promotes Breast Cancer Self-Exams, Education 基金会推动乳腺癌自我检查以及相关知识教育

 

Foundation Promotes Breast Cancer Self-Exams, Education 基金会推动乳腺癌自我检查以及相关知识教育

Early detection is the key to helping¹ women survive breast cancer. But medical experts say getting that message out remains² a challenge. As VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports, an organization called the Get In Touch Foundation is promoting breast self-exams for women and regular medical checks for early treatment.

 

早期检测是帮助女性拜托乳腺癌的关键。但是专家称，即使知道了检测结果，挑战仍然严峻。本台记者麦克·奥沙利文报道，一家名为“Get In Touch”的基金会正努力推动女性乳腺自我检测，以及定期医学检查，以便尽早治疗。

Breast  cancer survivor³ Mary Ann Wasil is at an inner city high school, talking about breast health and breast cancer.   

Some of the students have had family members with the disease but most know little about it.  They are learning more through an educational tool called a daisy wheel, a small instructional device designed in the shape of the flower that teaches them how to do self exams and encourages medical screenings if they find anything abnormal.  Their risk is low now, but will rise as they get older.

Wasil was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago, at age 39.

“My son had just turned 10 and my daughters were 12 and 13 at the time, and I looked at them and I thought, I never had a family history of breast cancer.  That is not true for them," she said.

A family history of breast cancer raises the risk.  Wasil's efforts educating her children about the disease led to this educational program, which is now in 26 countries.

Breast cancer rates are higher in industrial countries like the United States, where one in eight women will be diagnosed with the disease in her lifetime.  The World Health Organization says places like Africa have a much lower rate, partly because of differences in diet and lifestyle.  But the breast cancer rate is increasing in the developing world, and industrial countries have a much higher rate of survival because of early detection and treatment.

The actress Angelina Jolie brought attention to the condition when she revealed last year she had both breasts removed in a double mastectomy after learning that a rare genetic⁴ mutation⁵ and her family history left her at high risk of breast cancer.

Jolie's doctor,  Kristi Funk, says education and medical screenings are crucial.  

“I tell my patients that while we all hope that there would be a cure or a vaccination⁶ or something that will just be the magic bullet to stop this disease from ever starting, it is a long ways away.  And it is not even on the horizon.  So currently our best defense⁷ against this disease is early detection.  Early stage breast cancer is 98 percent curable," she said.

Dr. Funk and a colleague were honored by the Get In Touch Foundation at its annual luncheon⁸ in Los Angeles.  Also present was actor Rob Lowe, who lost his mother and grandmother to breast cancer and is active in spreading the message about early detection.

“Inevitably⁹ I meet so many heroes, whether it is the heroism¹⁰ of fighting a tough disease or it is the heroism of people who do nothing but raise money to help people in this fight, or it is the doctors who are on the forefront of the medical technologies.  So inevitably for me, I get inspired," he said.

 

Survivor Mary Ann Wasil is undergoing treatment for a recurrence¹¹ of her cancer.  She says she has never felt more alive, and is spreading the message that breast cancer can be beaten.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

4 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

5 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

6 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

9 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

10 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

11 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。