Yui Maguchi
Do you know the disease that one of two Japanese people suffers? And, how much pain do they have? Actually, my grandfather has been suffered from this disease for a long time. Even now, I remember that he was biting his lip to endure his uncontrolled pain. Can you guess what his disease is? Yes, it is cancer. Today, I’d like to talk about relieving pain from cancer patients and through my speech, I hope they will get back the eagerness for struggle with cancer and enjoy their life without pain.
The pain of cancer influences patients very much. It is persisting pain, the pain that torments patients from morning until night. About 30 percent of incipient patients feel pain, and in terminal symptoms, around 70 percent of victims of cancer have ache. Ms. Kaori Sakai who is a chief producer of NHK explains in her book that there are three types of pain caused by cancer. As you know, first one is physical pain. In particular, terminal patients often feel terrible pain and some of them cannot sleep well because of it. Second one is mental pain. Pain makes patients feel upset or take away their eagerness for struggle with cancer. And, finally, third one is social pain: the pain which patients cannot lead ordinary social life as they did before getting this disease.
Thus, it undermines not only patients’ bodies but also their minds and social life.
Also, it is hard for patient’s family to see patients endure pain. Actually, I could not bear to see my grandfather suffer from uncontrolled pain. In the night, my grandmother would stroke my grandfather’s back to reduce his stabbing sting. Although one of my family members was afflicted by unbearable agony, I was so helpless that I couldn’t do anything for him. How sorrowful this is. But, if we had been involved more in his painkilling care, he would have not suffered from pain so much.
In fact, palliative care has potentiality for saving patients tormented by pain. First of all, thanks to palliative care which uses medical drugs, patients can be removed their pain entirely. Moreover, a lot of patients will get back their eagerness for struggle with cancer, and challenge to beat this enemy again. Palliative care helps patients reduce physical pain and mental pain, and make them try to recover from social pain.
However, in Japan, people regard the medical treatment as more important process of struggle of cancer, and unfortunately, not much have been done for reducing the pain. Medical drugs, which are known for its painkilling effect, are not so famous in Japan and the amount of consumption of them is far smaller than that of in other developed countries. In fact, the United States uses 19 times as many medical drugs as Japan. This is the reality of Japanese palliative care.
So, why don’t such new wonderful medical treatments spread throughout Japan? Each hospital leaves alleviation of pain to doctors or nurses without enough knowledge of palliative care. Such doctors and nurses cannot deal with delicate palliative remedy such as medical drug and what is more, they consider it to be bad for our health and final means for dying cancer patients. Since hospitals refer them reducing the pain, the palliative care is prevented from spreading.
To solve this problem, first, hospitals should introduce palliative care as one of the treatment for cancer. Second, I suggest hospitals should set up the ward for palliative care where doctors and nurses who specialized in reducing pain are. They have special knowledge for relief from pain, so they are able to deal with medical drugs or such delicate remedies. By giving good palliative care along with treatment for cancer, they will support patients, physically and mentally. I’ll show you a successful example for you. A hospital introduced this ward. After introducing this system, patients’ lifetime, surprisingly, grew from 70 days to 150 days. Specialized doctors and nurses will not only help patients live without pain but also improve their condition much better and what is more, they give patients eagerness of struggle with tumor.
However, there are few doctors or nurses who specialize in palliative care and it will cost us a lot to train doctors and nurses for its cure. But, now cancer is the most major cause of death in Japan and about 50 percent of Japanese people get this disease. We have to deal with this problem as soon as possible. I think palliative care should be more popular, because it is very very effective for cancer patients.
Cancer. This is the most horrible enemy for us, Japanese people. The pain will torture patients and future patients forever. But, I want you to know that you can be free from its pain. I want you to know that you can live ordinary life even if you are a cancer patient. And, I hope palliative care give patients back the eagerness for struggle with cancer.
津田塾大学の間口優衣です。
ここまでつたないスピーチを読んで頂きありがとうございますm(_ _)m
✿このスピーチを書いた理由
このスピーチに限ったことではないのですが、一緒に住んでいた祖父が癌で亡くなった 経験から、２年生～３年生にかけてずっと終末期医療についてスピーチを書いていました。
｢どうしたら最後の時をもっと安らかに迎えられるのだろう｣という疑問から、末期の癌患 者の痛みの緩和ケアに関心を持ち、リサーチをするうちに医療用麻薬の存在を知りました。
医療用麻薬について調べていくにつれ、癌の痛み緩和に効果的であり、適切に使用すれば体 への影響が少ないにも関わらず日本の終末期医療の現場では普及していないというギャッ プを埋めたい!!と思うようになり、このトピックでスピーチを書くことを決めました!!
✿このスピーチの評価された点
私がネガティブなせいか評価された記憶がなく、批判された記憶しか残っていなかった のですが…超苦手分野であったデリバが上手くなったね～と言われました!!もともとデリ バがすごく下手で、大会に出る度にジャッジさんから｢デリバがね…暗いんだよ｣と言われ 続け、くじけかけていましたが、この大会ではジャッジさんからも特にデリバに関する批判 がありませんでした(T_T)デリバに関しては、苦手だったVoice Projectionを特に気をつけ て練習しました。声に強弱をつけるだけでも、デリバってすごい変わるのだと初めて気がつ きましたwあとはイントネーションにも注意しました。イントネーションがめちゃくちゃ だったので、直すためにテープに録音して聴いて確認したりなどしていました。
✿このスピーチを書いていて苦労した点
１｢医療用麻薬について書こう!!｣と思って書き始めたスピーチのため、スピーチを書く前か ら｢医療用麻薬を使った緩和ケアを普及させよう｣というSuggestionでいこうと決めてし まい、それを貫いたため、結局PとCは後付けで、置き方もどうしていいかわからず最後ま で行ってしまいました。そんなとこでつまずいているので(笑)、CとSが噛みあってないで すし、全体的に矛盾したものとなってしまっていると思います。文章書くのって難しいです ね…。やはりスピーチはPから考え始めるのが楽だし、内容の矛盾も防げると思います。
２｢英語力があれば…｣もうこのスピーチの苦労した点はこの一言に尽きます(;_;)英語で自 分の伝えたいことを上手く表現できませんでした。先輩やネイティブの先生にもっと英語 の表現を直してもらうべきでした!!このスピーチで出たオープン大会でも｢舌足らずみた い｣とジャッジさんにキツイお言葉を受け、その当時は一瞬落ち込みました…。
ESSでも英語の苦手な方いらっしゃると思いますが、コンテンツやデリバと同様に帰国 の子や留学生、あるいはESSの子などに英語表現も見てもらった方がいいと思います!!ネ イティブチェックを受ける時も文法や英語表現を細かく指摘して直してくれるようなネイ ティブにチェックをお願いした方がいいかもしれません!!やっぱり事前原稿の時点で英語 表現がちゃんとしてないと、スピーチをする前からジャッジさんのそのスピーチに対する 印象も悪くなってしまいますよね(>_<)
✿最後に
あまり頑張ってスピーチに取り組んでこなかったため、特に書くことがなくてすみませ ん(>_<)最後に一言…ネガティブなことばかり書いてる私が言うのもなんですが、スピー チをするにあたって自分や自分のスピーチに自信を持つってすごく重要だと思います!!自 分のスピーチに自信がないと態度にもデリバにも表れてしまうので、本心では自分のスピ ーチが最高！と思っていなくても｢自分のスピーチが最高｣くらいの自信をもってステージ に臨んだ方がいい結果を結ぶと思います。この自信って大会の時にだけ必要となってくる ものじゃなくて、スピーチを書く段階でもすごい大切です!!自分のSolutionに自信がなか ったり、自分の主張に自信がないと、スピーチへのやる気も落ちちゃいますよね(；´Д`)だ からこそ、スピーチを書く段階から自分の考えに自信を持つといいと思います♪インスト やら先輩やらにスピーチを批判されても、自分のスピーチに自信を持ってめげずに頑張っ てください★