So I realize that Cancer, any kind of Cancer, is uncomfortable. It's a topic no one wants to discuss, no one wants to bring up. But the truth is, everyone knows at least someone with some type of Cancer. It's a topic that needs to be discused no matter how uncomfortable a topic it is. I recently participated in a public speaking contest through my high school. I recited a piece from Gerilynn Lewis' autobiography "Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy". The piece details her trip to a stripclub to contemplate the importance of boobs in today's modern boob-obsessed society, and the effect having a mastectomy would have on her feminism. It is a tale of great personal struggle, and great personal strength as she comes to realize that her boobs dont make her who she is. My piece didn't even place. I took a look at the score sheets, trying to make some sense of why I wouldn't be going on to the next round. The Judges told me my topic was too controversial, and that it didn't uphold "contemporary community values." I'm sorry. I think I've misunderstood. In what way does Cancer not uphold community values? Is it cancer victims faults they have Cancer? I know our knowledge about cancer is far from complete, but our ignorance cannot be as much as to suspect this! I thought that in a high school competition, in America, for God's sake, I should be able to approach a topic that maybe is a little uncomfotable, but far from what I would consider controversial. Another event that just added fuel to my fire was that my friend did a piece on cutting, and she placed very high in her category. I don't want anyone mistaking this as a bitter rant from someone who lost a speech competition, that isn't what this is. But really, how can you honestly tell me her piece is "upholding contemporary community values" but mine isn't? I don't know what the bias is against breast cancer, but it really got me thinking that people are not as open-minded as I once believed them to be.