Essential Question Blog Post.

Topic: Health and Disease

Essential Question: Which serious disease most deserves research funding for treatment? 

Claim: Cancer is the disease that deserves research funding because it can be found in many forms and is still considerably misunderstood by scientists. 

Different types of cancer treatments

Reason: Cancer treatments need to constantly change/adapt as new forms are created. There are different types of cancer treatments because there are different types of cancer. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are the most common types of cancer treatment. Surgery is often the first option of treatment if the tumor can be taken out of the body. Radiation therapy uses high energy rays to kill cancer cells or shrink the tumor. Chemotherapy is used to kill the cancer cells. Cancer treatments are different depending on how bad the cancer is or different type of cancer. 

Objective summary: My Nights with Leukemia

My Nights with Leukemia 

by Michael W. Perry

In the first section of My Nights with Leukemia, by Michael W. Perry, the author changes his opinion on working on a night shift at the hospital with kids who have leukemia. Michael explains the path that led him to the job.  To relax from his stressful job, he started mountain climbing.  After getting hurt a few times,  he decided to learn how to handle emergencies so he took a course to be an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). He passed the test  and his first assignment was a job at a hospital. The only job for people starting out was the night shift in the pediatric department taking care of children with cancer. He did not want to work a night shift or take care of really sick kids. After a couple of months, though, Michael realized that he actually really liked working there and that it was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. "Today, when I tell friends about what I did then, they usually become shocked, and wonder how anyone could do that. 'No,' I feel like screaming. 'It wasn't what you think. If you'd been in my situation, you'd have probably felt like I did. I wanted to work there. I didn't want to do anything else.'"(13). In the next few chapters, Michael explains what lessons he learned about leukemia and what it takes to take care of very sick children. He explains how even in adversity, you can find beauty.




Perry, Michael W. My Nights with Leukemia. Auburn: Inkling Books, 2013.
"Children with a Blood Cancer." Leukaemia Foundation.
 http://www.leukaemia.org.au/living-well/children-with-a-blood-cancer

Health Survey Results

The results of our health survey were good. Everyone got the answers right. All of us thought of questions and rushed to get the answers. We discussed the questions if they are appropriate for our topic. Everyone worked together.

My Sister's Keeper

Discussion Question #1 (My Sister's Keeper)

 Discuss why Anna wants to sue her parents.

It seems like Anna is being selfish by not wanting to donate her kidney to save her sister, but her actions are really because she loves her sister and doesn't want to see her suffer anymore. Her motivation is not what it appears to be. From the time Anna was a baby, she donated blood to save her older sister Kate who has leukemia which is a type of blood cancer. Anna was genetically engineered by her parents to be a perfect donor match for her sister. By the time she is 13, she says she doesn't want to be forced by her parents to donate anymore. She finds a lawyer to help her sue her parents for "medical emancipation." On the surface, it seems like Anna doesn't want to save her sister. In fact, her mother, Sara, is angry and frustrated to learn that Anna wants to stop donating to her sister. At one point, after Kate has been readmitted to the hospital, Sara seems to blame Anna for it. "She looks at Anna, still standing in the doorway of the kitchen: I hope you're happy" (114). However, Anna doesn't seem like the kind of person who wouldn't care about her sister. She is frustrated too because  "...a major decision about me is being made, and no one's bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion..." This is obviously a very hard thing for Anna to do and she is upset that it's causing so much stress in her family. Then we learn something in a conversation between Kate and Anna. Kate says, "If you don't want to be my sister anymore, that's one thing. But I don't think I could stand to lose you as a friend"(57). Anna is crying and thinks to herself, "I can't stand the thought of losing her, either"(57). This shows that Anna's motivation for suing her parents is complicated by the love she has for her sister and wanting to be a good sister.

On the Edge

Tuesday write#9

A group of people are looking up with their eyes closed. You might think they are looking at a solar eclipse. What they are actually looking at is a tall building made out of glass. When the sun hits the glass, it makes it really bright, creating an almost blinding reflection onto the ground. The reflection is super hot--it can even melt the tires of car...or anything that is in its way.  Someone tried to fry an egg in the heat of the reflection. It actually worked!

The building is like a giant magnifying glass. The people looking up did not realize that they were looking at a building because the glare was so bright.  Even when someone asked them to guess, they couldn't.  They were pretty surprised when they learned it was coming from a building.

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