Inquiry for Future Investigation

This cancer research project has been along, and very informational process, and like it says on correia seminar I do have a few unanswerd questions. First of all I could not find if there was a heart cancer. With the heart being the most important muscle and the most important organ in the body you would think that heart cancer would be a very big deal? The heart is also an easy target for a metastatisized cancer because any cancer carried in the blood would pass through the heart multiple times. Another question I had is if cancer cells kill each other if two seperate tumors came in contact. Lets say if a lung cancer tumor and a brain cancer tumor both matastisized to a pancreas, would the two cancers fight or combine? In other words does cancer recognize itself when it comes in contact, or does it just destroy anything around it. Another thing I was wondering is there really a chance for a cure. Cancer is in one sense just a mutated part of our own self, so to cure cancer we are going to have to kill off a part of ourselves. Then again there could be a way to just kill the cancerous cells, but only the future can tell. There is also just one question that bothered me, why is cancer not a large part of history? It really never had any hype until the twenty first centuary.

Personal Reflection

This entire cancer project has been a real important to me. Before I started this project, cancer was just a disease, something that popped up in national geographic. Now its one of the most important things in my entire life. The most influential part of this entire experience was the interviews of people affected by cancer. One man who suffered from breast cancer, wanted to make sure that we all understood one thing- Live today, because you don't know what will happen tomorrow. A statement like that is so true when uncertainty is around every corner, ready to strike the next innocent guy to walk down the street. Cancer doesn't care if you are a celebrity, it doesn't care if your homeless, and it doesn't care if your healthy, it just attacks. This assignment also changed my views on the severity of cancer. I could not believe that fifteen hundred people pass away everyday, not every year, every day. Fifteen hundred out of six million are not the best odds. But still, there is no point of living in fear behind the Shadow of cancer. During this project I also learned a lot about what the disease is. For instance, I learned that cancer cells are in a way invincible, instead of dying off after about fifty duplications like normal cells, cancer cells never stop multiplying. Its that kind of small details that make cancer such a formidable fighter. Overall (even though it was a ton of work), I am glad that Mr. G assigned this project, and I think that every child needs to be informed about cancer so that one day maybe a cure can be found. Thank you Mr. G, I think this was a great choice of a project to do.

Cancer Story of a Real Individual

At the age of twenty five Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer. At the time because of its early detection he had a ninety percent cure rate. But, like many other healthy men his age he ignored the signs that he had cancer. Because his cancer was not treated it metastasized to his abdomen, lungs, and brain. Because of his combination of a strong support system and competitive spirit, plus heavy physical conditioning, he was able to fight his cancer. He then started to study the different aspects of cancer. With the knowledge and the will to live Lance Armstrong underwent heavy treatment. All of his work and perseverance finally paid off when he was declared cancer free. During his treatment he started what is now known as the "Live Strong Foundation". Lance Armstrong had a very aggressive case of testicular cancer 60% choriocarcinoma, 40% embryonic and less than 1% teratoma. Doctors were unable to cure the cancer in one of his testicals so they had to remove it. Lance received one dose of BEP (Bleomycin, Etoposide and Platinol) chemotherapy, followed by three doses of VIP chemotherapy (Ifosfamide, Etoposide and Platinol). Because of his brain cancer he also had to have two additional surgeries to remove two lesions that had cancer that were in his brain. Lance did not let this stop him though. After all of the suffering and fighting he was finally able to get back on his bike. he then won the nineteen ninety nine, two thousand, two thousand and one, two thousand and two, two thousand and three, two thousand and four, and the two thousand and five Tours de France races. Seven in a row. He was diagnosed with cancer in October 1996 and was declared cancer free in February 1997. But even after he was declared cancer free people still did not believe in him. His previous six hundred thousand dollar sponsor did not belive in him and the only sponsor that would take him was the American postal service two hundred thousand dollar sponsor. But even with the general public lack of faith, he overcame cancer and become a winner once again. His story is inspirational to all people who are affected by cancer whether they themselves or a loved one has it. He brings hope to those who have cancer and has been a pioneer in the cancer community.

What is Cancer

HISTORY
The terms carcinoma and carcinos were first used in the terms of a malignant tumor by Hippocrates and come from the Greek carcinos meaning 1) crayfish 2) canker. He also used the term squirr to refer to a solid, malignant tumor, using it as an adjective to mean “hard, or hardened”. As well as the Roman doctor Celsus, who noted that the early stages of cancerous lesions brought crabs to mind, thus resulting in the use of words like cancer and carcinos to refer to these diseases, (both originating from Greek terms for shellfish). Galien used the word oncos to describe a malignant tumor, and early in the nineteenth century the word carcinoma was used interchangeably with cancer and the suffix –oma to carcinos to get carcinoma, which is now used nowadays to exemplify a cancer

SYMPTOMS
- moles changing color(shade), size, and location
- non-healing sores/cuts/scrapes
- sore throat a little horse, and coughing
- tumors
- unusual bleeding
- bad indigestion
- bowel/bladder problems

CELL PROCESSES
A cancer cell is a mutated cell with no control over its division. The cell divides in the same way that normal cells do, mitosis. Normal cells under go mitosis when another cell dies, but cancer cells continually divide and spread. This uncontrollable growth eventually becomes a tumor, which can sometimes take the form of a lump. Cancer cells are in a way immortal. A normal cell will die after approximately fifty replications; cancer cells will never stop dividing. A cancer cell is also immune from apoptosis; a process in which a cell with damaged DNA kills itself. Overall we have found that cancer is but one thing, without honor.

Co-Author: Toby

Types of Cancer

Carcinomas: are classified as cancer in the outer layer of cells of the skin and internal mechanisms. They account for most cases of breast, lung, and intestinal, skin and prostate cancer. Carcinomas typically spread to bones, liver or any other organ in the body.

Sarcomas: cancers of connective tissue such as bone, muscle, cartilage and blood vessels. Often metastasize to affect the lungs.

Lymphomas and Leukemia: hematological (of the blood) cancers, occur in and affect the functions of the blood or the organs that create the blood, like the lymph nodes, spleen or the marrow in our bones

Gliomas: cancers occurring in the nerve centers/ tissue

Melanomas: cancers of the skin, often occurring in coloring cells.

Most medical names for cancers provide clues to their meaning. Seeing as most names for cancer have been around since the Hellenistic era, the result is a strong resemblance to their Greek and Latin roots.

Co-Author: Toby

Why Study Cancer?

It is important that we study cancer beacuse cancer is expected to kill about 560,000 people this year. Thats over 1500 people a day. If something is killing thousands of people a day it obviously need to stop it. But, we cant stop it if we dont know anything about it, so that is why we need to study it. Did you know that every one in two men and every one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer in there life time. That makes 1.4 million people expected to be diagnosed with cancer this year alone. If something is plagueing our society this much we are going to have to study or it will only get worse. Cancer is already widely studied beacuse people are trying to find a cure. Any day now some scientist could make an incredible discovery and cancer could be stoped by something simple like taking a pill or shot. We have already worked very hard to find a cure so why should we stop now? There is no reason why we should not study cancer, and we shall continue to study it until we have found a cure.