Ocean Breeze

Suffering from cancer can cause you to be unstable emotionally, physically, and mentally. Every decision we make throughout our lives is based on life pressures and what you personally value in your life. The decisions you make and your values distinguish who you are as an individual and determine where your life will lead you. Every decision has a consequence but if you are following what you value in life then your decision is worth choosing. True friends should find out specific details of a friends actions as well as being there for them as support.

In Cancer by Janice Deal and The Michelle I Know by Alison Lohans the decisions made by Janine and Michelle where all based on their personal values. In Cancer, Janine told her friends she was suffering from cancer because she enjoyed and valued the attention she was given by those around her. In The Michelle I Know, Michelle was suffering from cancer and valued the attention from others to help her get through the disease. I really reacted strongly in Cancer when Janine started to convince herself she was truly sick. She stopped wearing makeup and had circles under her eyes. As a friend of Janine’s I would personally try to talk to Janine alone and let her know that I am there for her as support. There are times in life when your friends may not always tell you every detail of their lives but when physical health is involved as a friend you should look for detail. Numerous humans think that a friend should never pry in others businesses but I think in a case like Janine’s a true friend should pry. Janine was visibly sick but no one had actually talked to a doctor or seen her physically leave the doctors office. Michelle also very much values the attention and support from her family and friends. I very much value the support and love from my family and friends and to me I would need those that I love to hold my hand through hard times.

The physical support of friends and family may not be enough to help a friends survive an illness. In both short stories, Janine and Michelle both value attention but Michelle seems to value the opinions of her family and friends then Janine. Janine values attention from others but also values what she reads in books and papers. The author in Cancer portrayed Janine’s values as much more selfish then the author in The Michelle I Know. As a friend I would actually go to the doctor, talk to her family and try to find out more details on a friends illness. By finding out these details, in the story Cancer, I would discover that Janine was lying about suffering from Cancer. If a human being would be so selfish as to lie about suffering from an illness as huge as cancer then I think they are more then just physically sick. This lie could be showing that Janine has a very low self-esteem causing her to seek for the attention of others to boost her confidence. This lie could also represent a mental illness, or emotional problems that need to be helped through a professional. By discovering this you can actually help a friend more than if you just trusted them without asking any questions. Once the truth is out Janine could get therapy and help from professionals to help her emotionally and mentally. I also noticed that Michelle also has a low self-esteem in, The Michelle I Know. Michelle’s confidence is low because of chemotherapy, loss of hair. Michelle is already in the hospital so as a friend of hers in that situations I would just be there as support and treat her just like any other girl in the world.

All decisions made by humans are based on what they personally value in their lives. Where our lives lead us is all dependent on our decisions based on our values. In the world today the decisions that we make as teenagers are completely different then the choices we will make as adults. Teenagers very much value attention from those around them like in Cancer and The Michelle I Know. Teenagers value the opinions of their peers, and friends then their families. All teenagers are pressured by their peers to act, look, be certain way. These pressures are based on movies, television and magazines which since we value the opinions of our peers, teenagers try to act and look that way. I am currently a teenager and I can say from personal experience that I do value the opinions of my peers. I do have many other personal values like honesty, which is very important to me along with many other values. The fact that the general population of teenagers values the opinions and attention of there peers that is when problems begin. Teenagers start to get into drugs, and alcohol just for the attention of their peers. Our personal values do lay a huge impact on our everyday decisions. In Cancer, Janine valued both physical materials like books as well as attention from others. Michelle valued to love and support from her family and friends. These values influenced the decisions each character made throughout the stories. In both stories they valued the opinions of their friends and as friend I will always find out specific details so I can help them in every way possible.

When a friend takes the time to find out details about your life to make sure you know they are there for you then that is a true friend. The personal values of both Janine and Michelle very much differentiated their decisions. Each character based their decisions of what they personally valued the most in their lives. The consequences of their decisions could have ended friendships and trust but because of their values that overruled the consequences. I personally think a true friend will look into details in order to make sure a friend is all right.