Concerns about the devastating effects of cancer prompted the concerted efforts, from individuals, organizations and nations, to carry out intensive research on the disease. Cancer is a disease that is characterized by uncontrollable cell growth. There exist over 100 various types of cancer, each of, which is defined according to the type of cells that are originally infected. Cancer is mainly exhibited by formation of tumors, except in the case of leukemia. The tumors, which are results of the uncontrollable cell division, hamper the normal working of the various body processes, and hence, end up harming the body.
Research and dissemination of information regarding this malignant became a vital objective that led to establishment of some organizations such as the American Cancer Society (ACS). The society has gathered important information regarding the preventive measures that can be used to keep at bay the chances of getting infected with cancer. It has also funded research that is aimed at getting the cure for those who become infected with the disease. More significantly, the Society has been using photos as a way of educating the masses on the dangers of cancer, and providing information on the various measures that can be taken to prevent chances of infection. There are two photos of interest (embedded in this document) that the American Cancer Society has been using to make a cautionary call regarding some of the activities that expose people to cancer infection. The aim of this paper is to show how the photos aid the ACS to achieve their set goals and objectives.
Figure 1:http://www.naturalnews.com/gallery/articles/ACS_Scan01.jpg
Figure 2:source:http://www.stephaniemscott.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/TanningAd.jpg
In delivering rhetoric, the first photo, as shown above, can be categorized as pathos. This is so because, the persuasive appeal, to the intended audience, is drawn from the sense of self-interest and emotions. The photo shows a lady holding a photo of a man. The lady alleges that the person in the photo is his late brother, who died of skin cancer. The source of the malignant has been identified to be the sun. The message in the photo is a clarion call, to all the people, to make an effort of protecting their skin against excessive exposure to sunrays. The photo utilizes the unfortunate occurrence that David’s sister went through, to caution against ignoring the use of sunscreen to protect the skin. The main caption in the image is very touching and it evokes the emotions of the audience. The statement, “My brother accidentally killed himself.” rings a loud bell in the head of any person who views the picture. Death has always made people’s emotions run high, and the mention of it in the photo caption works towards evoking sorrow. The caption goes on to explain that David loved to be active in the outdoors, however, out of his lack of necessary information of the dangers that larked outdoors, he got infected with skin cancer, which ultimately led to his demise. At this point, the issue is not that people should stop being active outdoors, but rather, they should use sunscreen for their protection. Another piece of information that can be deduced from this photo is that cancer is treatable given that the doctors figure it out in the early stages. People should therefore take it as a precautionary measure and go for cancer checks.
In the second photo, the message being passed across is analogous to that of the first photo. The similarity lies in the point that the two photos are advocating for protection against skin cancer. Unlike the in the first photo, the second photo does not evoke similar sorrowful emotions. It is, however, warning against tanning, a procedure that exposes humans to high prospects of getting infected with skin cancer. Similar to the first photo, it also exposes the lack of relevant information on the dangers that a people may be exposed to after skin tanning. In deed the second photo achieves the visual rhetoric through logos.
There are two arguments that have been posed in the caption on the photo. On the one hand, the trend that people have adopted is tanning, which changes the appearance of the skin. On the other hand, the tragedy is irreversible damage to the skin. It is from the two arguments that the message in the photo evokes the logical deduction from the audience. The best verdict of the story is given to emphasize the need to choose the safe position of staying healthy. As is indicated in the photo caption, the stakeholder successfully elicits the logical line of thought by enquiring whether the person is ready to trade their life for a trend. The stakeholder goes ahead to explain the dangers that may affect a person who has tanned the skin. The danger is permanent damage to the skin leading to sun spots on the skin, premature aging and development of wrinkles.
After a careful analysis of the visual rhetoric appeal created using the two photos, it emerges that ACS has successfully passed relevant information to the people. This is in line with their mission that has been a dedication to eliminate cancer as the main health problem, by advocating for best practices, and offering education regarding the preventive measures. The ACS is a national wide community-based voluntary health organization that was established with the main objective of fighting against the cancer ailment. The organization is ranked among the largest voluntary health agency, and it is composed of over two million volunteers throughout United States. In order to achieve the goal of eradication of cancer from being a nation health concern, the organization has derived other goals, which will aid in fast actualization of the overall goal. These goals include; preventing cancer deaths by curtailing the mortality rate by 50%, preventing diagnosis by reducing the rate of incidence by 25%, and working towards improving the lives of those infected with cancer significantly.
In conclusion, the ACS has ingeniously used photographs to elicit rhetoric appeal of the people. The main concern that is being passed on is, the preventive measures that every individual has to take in order to reduce cancer incidence. Creation of this awareness goes hand in hand with the main focus of the organization, which as has been stated above is; eradication of cancer as a major health concern national wide. The photos successfully provoke the thoughts and evoke the emotions of the audience, and hence, prompt them to take necessary actions. This actions are, mainly, in harmony with their best interest regarding their health status. As majority of the people would feel indebted or even broken by the effects of cancer, the awareness campaign would be considered successful given that the intended audience clearly grasps the information passed and acts accordingly.
Works Cited
ACS. COACHES VS CANCER. 8 May 2013. 16 September 2013. <http://community.acsevents.org/site/PageServer?pagename=GalaFY08_PL_KansasCityCoaches_OtherRevenueSource>.
Eyre, Harmon J and Gerald L. Woolam. "AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY; Objectives, Goals and Principles." 2 November 2012. DOCSTOC. Web document. 16 September 2013. <http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5951237/goals-of-american-cancer-society>.
JHU. Center fo Social Concern. 7 June 2008. http://www.jhu.edu/csc/studentgroups/americancancersociety.shtml. 16 September 2013.
