Charize Q. Terlaje
CO210 Sec 04
Good afternoon CO210 Sec 04!! For my community issue speech, I based it on a hot topic that has been rattling the CNMI. My topic is about "The War on Betel Nut Chewing in the CNMI." Since I joined the Department of Fire and EMS, I was always a part of the Commonwealth Cancer Association committee and what made me choose this topic was that in the CNMI betel nut chewing is found to be the leading cause for oral cancer diagnosis. Oral Cancer in the CNMI is still being viewed as a taboo disease and that when someone wants to bring awareness to the disease, you have to walk on eggshells not to offend any individual who still considers betel nut chewing as part of their tradition and ancestral belief. I hope you enjoy the research that I had to conduct to get accurate information which I will be presenting in my video.
With lots of blessings to your next success in your college journey, Charize.
With lots of blessings to your next success in your college journey, Charize.
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The War on Betel Nut Chewing in the CNMI
The Commonwealth Cancer Association has been fighting a war against betel nut chewing in the CNMI due to the current rise in medical statistics for oral cancer. Oral cancer includes cancers of the lips, tongue, checks, floor of the mouth, hard and soft palate, sinuses, and pharynx (throat) that can be life threatening if not diagnosed and treated early. In 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) deemed betel nut itself a carcinogenic. In collaboration with the Commonwealth Cancer Association, the Betel Nut Intervention Trial (BENIT) is a Saipan based team who continues to conduct the study of betel nut chewers who want to quit their habit of chewing and in the efforts of raising awareness, the month of April has been proclaimed and dedicated as oral cancer awareness month in the CNMI. Betel nut has been in the Marianas as long as the Chamorros have been in the Marianas. Chamorros who are the indigenous inhabitants of Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Rota have been chewing the mixture of betel nut, betel leaf, and lime as a tradition, custom or ritual that dates back thousands of years. Chewing betel nut heightens the body’s senses and increases alertness. Warm sensations are felt throughout the body, resulting in arousal and feeling the euphoria and in recent decades, betel nut from Micronesia was needed to be imported to meet the supply and demand of the betel nut chewers in the Mariana Islands. In ancient times, women would typically chew more than the men in order to obtain red staining on their teeth and lips. Staining was once seen as a form of beautification, proving to the male the woman’s love and affection for the euphoric drug but it was not until the Spanish era where the Chamorros started mixing carcinogens with the betel nut to increase the potency of the drug. In the Northern Mariana Islands, children are introduced to betel nut as young as 6 years old and begins their journey of chewing when they’re in middle school. But chewing betel nut was just something that you do because everyone around you is chewing because it was seen as a crowd thing. In the efforts of raising awareness towards oral cancer, the modern generation of betel nut chewers want to know now why is it that their generation are the ones being found with oral cancer and not our ancestor and to everyone studying and researching about oral cancer have found that its all the additives that has been introduced to betel nut chewing to accomplish that first-time euphoria. In the state’s dentist can go their whole career not diagnosing a single individual for oral cancer. In the past 10 years, the Seventh Day Adventist Clinic on Saipan has diagnosed at least 30 cases of oral cancer and less than half have survived. Oral cancer diagnosis is part of a routine dental exam where your dentist conducts oral cancer screening exam. More specifically, your dentist will feel for any lumps or irregular changes in your neck, head, face, and oral cavity as well as any sores or discolored tissue. If an area looks suspicious, a biopsy will then be needed to determine the problem. Just like any other cancer, oral cancer treatments are followed by surgery to remove the cancerous growth, radiation and/or chemotherapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells and in the CNMI all dental clinics offer free oral screening exam for any individuals who feel the need to be checked all thanks to the funds raised by the Commonwealth Cancer Association. Worldwide, betel nut was marked the 4thmost addictive substance in the world; following tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine and has become the leading cause of Oral Cancer in the Northern Mariana Islands. As of the 2018 Annual Report conducted by the Commonwealth Cancer Association, under their diagnostic chart for the top five diagnosis in 2018, oral cancer ranked second coming in at 21% following breast cancer at 30%. In the CNMI under Public Law No. 19-66 H.B. No. 19-65, SS1 proclaimed by the 19thLegislature of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands “prohibits the sale, offer, or giving of areca nut (betel nut) to any person who is under the age of 18 (minors); and for other purposes.” The bill was signed into law by the Honorable Ralph DLG. Torres Governor of the CNMI on the 23rdof September 2016. In conclusion to my report, oral cancer which is a still a disease in the CNMI that goes undetected until treatments are no longer an option, the bill that was passed by the legislature and the awareness that the Commonwealth Cancer Association continue to do has really helped and changed people’s lives. Oral cancer is a disease that is still being treated as walking on eggshells but I hope in the efforts of the community that they get check when they are in doubt of their health and when something doesn’t feel right because being selfish to yourself and keeping it a secret to yourself will only make the road harder for you and your family. References Commonwealth Cancer Association Inc. (2018). annual report.Retrieved from http://www.ccamarianas.org/downloads/annual_reports/CCA_2018_Annual_Report.pdf (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public Law No. 19-66 H.B. No. 19-65) WebMD Medical Reference. (2017, February 20). Oral Cancer. https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/oral-cancer#1 |
Community Speech Outline Template
For my community issue speech, I will be teaching about the risk factors that deals with mixing carcinogens into your betel nut and how I am going to test it is by showing you the statistics in the CNMI of the top five cancer diagnosis. I am Charize Terlaje and for today I just want to know why we continue our ancestral tradition of chewing betel nut when the number based of the statistics conducted by the Commonwealth Cancer Association displays that chewing betel nut is the leading cause for Oral Cancer. How I had to organize my community issue topic was to accumulate accurate and truthful information that was educational for myself and for others. I will maintain my audience’s attention by sounding confident in my topic and using emotions that was greatly felt by myself while undertaking my community issue topic. “Worldwide, betel nut was marked the 4thmost addictive substance in the world; following tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine and has become the leading cause of Oral Cancer in the Northern Mariana Islands.” I will be testing for understanding after individuals assigned to conduct my survey from my video and displaying the 2018 Annual Report conducted by the Commonwealth Cancer Association displaying the statistic on a pie chart and number chart of the top 5 diagnosis in the CNMI. All the time that had to be spent on my community topic issue to bring to the table an honest report had me emotionally attach to my topic. In the CNMI new changes are coming and the ancestral time is breaking where no one wants to be left in the dark because there is help being offered in our community for people to are too scared to get check, who are in doubt of their health, and for people who tell themselves that they can’t afford to be seen by someone willing to heal our community. |
For this semester, I really enjoyed undertaking my community issue speech. I went through a lot of changes with what community issue I wanted to project about. It was not until I finally found the inspiration on my topic “The War on Betel Nut Chewing in the CNMI.” I was really moved by this topic after the March Against Cancer and being a part of the Commonwealth Cancer Association committee for the past three years since I joined the Department of Fire and EMS. I was emotionally moved by this topic because betel nut chewing in the CNMI is looked upon as an ancestral tradition that you practice. But for me, why would you want to continue practicing a tradition that takes lives of individuals who are too scared to find out what is wrong with their body until it is to late. But I understand that not everyone chews betel nut in the same way. My grandfather who has been chewing most his life has continued to do it the way his mother has taught him which is just betel nut, betel leaf, and lime. There are no added carcinogens to his mixture that the modern-day generation of chewers are doing. The research that had to be conducted for this topic and all the networking that I had to go through to accumulate accurate and truthful information was very educational for myself. It is something that I feel passionate about when trying to bring awareness to other individuals in the community who aren’t being properly educated about the risk and factors of adding carcinogens to increase the potency of their drug. I really hope that my community issue speech touches other people’s lives for the better and helps them guide their way to making a change for themselves and their future because there is help that is being offered in the community.