Meet Mizmo (pseudonym), a 57 year old woman from the United Kingdom, diagnosed with breast cancer.
With each new day of her life, Mizmo is surviving and ultimately living to write about her experiences and her ups and downs. Here’s a woman who is undergoing surgeries and radiation treatments, and yet is keeping a log of it all, day by day, week by week, month by month.
As most people become when they’re faced with such a life-threatening disease, Mizmo is extremely educated about breast cancer, including the treatments. This site is a glimpse into the window of a strong and fighting woman whose every new day is a celebration and every new accomplishment a revolution — but this is also a place to become educated about a subject that I, as a male, and I’m sure most females without breast cancer don’t know much about.
When you think of something that’s dying, or clinging on for life, you get the image of disparity and sadness. You will not find this image at Beyond Contestation. The title, itself, is quite significant, in my opinion. A contestation, with root contest, is subject to debate, and implies uncertainty. Mizmo is beyond uncertainty and now she must face an ailment that all too many women have to face.
I believe that a web log like this and its readers, can really make a difference to find a cure for this disease. Right now, treatments and possible cures are being contested. Together, we can all bring the cure Beyond Contestation. Mizmo, and women like her, are proving that the human nature to survive and help others is very much alive.
To be honest, while a little ashamed, I didn’t really give much thought to such a campaign until I continued to read Mizmo’s stories and started to think of all the women in my life whom I would hate to see go through such a horrible thing as breast cancer. You know, the real purpose, I think, of art, is to captivate the audience and really allow them to use the art as their own. This site is like that, because you start to put yourself and the people around you in Mizmo’s shoes and it’s then that you feel a sense of empathy.
Obviously, the design of this blog hardly mattered, but in this case, is very fitting. The site is pink, embroidered with a pink ribbon as a sign of breast cancer awareness. It’s very simple and easily navigated.
Frequent readers to this web log are going to celebrate when there is an up, and cry when there is a down. But after all is said and done, one gets a real sense of hope from Beyond Contestation.
Let’s celebrate Mizmo and her cause: Beyond Contestation.Beyond Contestation