In preparation for my final project in English 102, I need to revise and do more research for both of the essays that I have written. While working on my essays, I had a few additional ideas for my projects floating around in the back on my head.
For my community analysis essay, I wrote an ethnography focusing on breast cancer support groups. Throughout the paper, I feel as though more research could be used for more direct quotes from my sources. Another aspect from that essay that needs more attention is a part where I described HER2 breast cancer. One of the women I interviewed discussed that she had HER2 breast cancer and because it was rare and couldn’t find resources about HER2, she created her own online support group. In the paper I didn’t discuss what HER2 cancer means. Another area I would like to further explain is laugh yoga. Laugh yoga is sometimes used for some women who are going through breast cancer treatment. I feel that more research will help explain different options for women who are seeking support.
In my argumentative essay I was focusing on whether or not women should be tested for the BRCA mutation. I feel as though this essay was a good piece of writing but the type of research I had to do for this project was somewhat different from the ethnography piece. In this essay I was tackling a tough subject to begin with, so encompassing all the points was somewhat challenging.
In this essay I would like to add more information about the scientific aspect to include to the genetic and biological information. Also researching the ethical issues that surround the BRCA is a very large aspect of the entire subject. Including more information about the ethical dilemma would be extremely beneficial to my paper. I also feel like researching women who have had the testing done would be great for the paper. I feel like adding a personal purpose to the paper, really brings the paper to reality. I would like to conduct to some research among my friends and classmates and with the information they have, whether or not they would be for or against testing for the BRCA genes. I also feel like more direct quotes from women who have had the testing done would help give another perspective and make for a rich and in-depth piece of writing. I also want to focus on the implications of a positive BRCA on insurance records, employment records and other parts of life that could be adversely affected.
I have several ideas to help my paper reach another level. I am eager to use different types of research and make my essays and final project outstanding!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Research Journal Entry #10- University 106
I started my search using “Clusty” search engine. Admittedly, I get stuck in the Google rut so I was eager to try a new search engine. When I first started, I used the words “breast cancer”. I thought, “Wait a minute, I need to search for the BRCA1 & BRCA2 genes, not just breast cancer.” So I entered the term “brca”. Once the results popped up, I noticed along the left side, in a column, the “clusters”. I found this to be way cool and super helpful too! I liked how it had all of the related topics all together, and then also in the listing of the topics, it had a number by the topics, indicating how many related pages were under that topic.
I clicked on BRCA mutation, to find five sub-topics, more closely related to the mutation of the gene. This was extremely helpful because for this week in English 102, I am making a website all about the mutated BRCA gene. My goal for the website is to inform the general public about what it means to have hereditary breast cancer. As I was discussing my topic with other people in my class, I found that not one person had ever even heard about the BRCA genes before! Using Clusty search engine will help me get a good idea for general topics to touch upon for my website. I have done tons of research (both academically & personally) to gain knowledge about the mutated BRCA genes. So because of that, my understanding of the BRCA genes is far greater than that of the general population. With that, I didn’t want to make my website too in depth; I simply wanted to help people understand what it means to have the BRCA gene(s).
I also think it is super important to include the testing criteria for genetic testing. Again using the Clusty search engine I was able to find the clusters that pertained to who get tested and why they get tested. I search “brca” again, and found “brca testing” in the side topic category. After sifting through all 8 of the pages in the brca testing cluster, I was really amazed to find that pretty much every single one of the pages were useful! Not the case when searching on google or even some of the library databases. Although I realize that not all of these pages constitute being scholarly, they are still very helpful for my goal of creating some high points for my website. Finding and using different search engines will ultimately enrich this project and help enhance my future projects too!
I clicked on BRCA mutation, to find five sub-topics, more closely related to the mutation of the gene. This was extremely helpful because for this week in English 102, I am making a website all about the mutated BRCA gene. My goal for the website is to inform the general public about what it means to have hereditary breast cancer. As I was discussing my topic with other people in my class, I found that not one person had ever even heard about the BRCA genes before! Using Clusty search engine will help me get a good idea for general topics to touch upon for my website. I have done tons of research (both academically & personally) to gain knowledge about the mutated BRCA genes. So because of that, my understanding of the BRCA genes is far greater than that of the general population. With that, I didn’t want to make my website too in depth; I simply wanted to help people understand what it means to have the BRCA gene(s).
I also think it is super important to include the testing criteria for genetic testing. Again using the Clusty search engine I was able to find the clusters that pertained to who get tested and why they get tested. I search “brca” again, and found “brca testing” in the side topic category. After sifting through all 8 of the pages in the brca testing cluster, I was really amazed to find that pretty much every single one of the pages were useful! Not the case when searching on google or even some of the library databases. Although I realize that not all of these pages constitute being scholarly, they are still very helpful for my goal of creating some high points for my website. Finding and using different search engines will ultimately enrich this project and help enhance my future projects too!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Research Journal Entry #9- University 106
Citation added:
Simchoni, Sharon, Eitan Friedman, Bella Kaufman, Ruth Gershoni-Baruch, Avi Orr-Urteger, Inbal Kedar-Barnes, Ronit Shiri-Sverdlov, Efrat Dagan, Sigal Tsbari, Mordechai Shohat, Raphael Catane, Mary-Claire King, Amnon Lahad, and Ephrat Levy-Lahad. "Familial Clustering of Site-Specific Cancer Risks Associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in the Ashkenazi Jewish Population." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103 (2006): 3770-774. JSTOR.org. National Academy of Sciences. Albertsons Library, Boise. 15 Apr. 2009. Web.
FREE WRITE
First of all, I did not realize there were that many databases!!! Amazing! My most recent essay was about the BRCA1 & 2 genes. If the woman has either of the genes, it predisposes them to developing breast cancer to up to 86% and ovarian cancer up to 60%! When I was writing the paper and doing all the research, the numbers & stats were absolutely staggering! While I was doing that particular research, I kept coming across this information about the Ashkenazi Jewish population, and how they are the one ethnicity that seems to be even more at risk. This is very interesting to me. I read a lot about this, and still seem to be asking “why”? For some reason the women who originate from this particular area of the world, are at a higher risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. What about their DNA predisposes them to this? This begs the question of if there is an environmental piece to whether a woman’s gene will mutate and then in turn develop breast cancer. Is there some chemical, some type of food, something all these women were exposed to, what could it be? What is the link and if it happened to this particular group, can it happen again? Is it something that passed down genetically, or is it “in the water”? I’m also wondering why not other groups of women in neighboring areas near the Ashkenazi Jewish women, aren’t at such a risk. So if this gene is so prevalent in this group, is there a group that is not at such a high risk? What can be done to find out this information? I guess just time and testing of as many women as possible will give us the information and data we so desperately need to really find out the what’s and why’s of the BRCA genes. Along the same lines, what can be done to raise awareness about BRCA genetic testing. Knowledge is power and the more you know, the better you can handle your body and the challenges. To me the chance of developing breast cancer up to 86% is ridiculously high. To figure out what can be done to either change this, learn more about this or stop the mutation, seems vital to discovering a cure for breast cancer.
Simchoni, Sharon, Eitan Friedman, Bella Kaufman, Ruth Gershoni-Baruch, Avi Orr-Urteger, Inbal Kedar-Barnes, Ronit Shiri-Sverdlov, Efrat Dagan, Sigal Tsbari, Mordechai Shohat, Raphael Catane, Mary-Claire King, Amnon Lahad, and Ephrat Levy-Lahad. "Familial Clustering of Site-Specific Cancer Risks Associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in the Ashkenazi Jewish Population." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103 (2006): 3770-774. JSTOR.org. National Academy of Sciences. Albertsons Library, Boise. 15 Apr. 2009. Web.
FREE WRITE
First of all, I did not realize there were that many databases!!! Amazing! My most recent essay was about the BRCA1 & 2 genes. If the woman has either of the genes, it predisposes them to developing breast cancer to up to 86% and ovarian cancer up to 60%! When I was writing the paper and doing all the research, the numbers & stats were absolutely staggering! While I was doing that particular research, I kept coming across this information about the Ashkenazi Jewish population, and how they are the one ethnicity that seems to be even more at risk. This is very interesting to me. I read a lot about this, and still seem to be asking “why”? For some reason the women who originate from this particular area of the world, are at a higher risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. What about their DNA predisposes them to this? This begs the question of if there is an environmental piece to whether a woman’s gene will mutate and then in turn develop breast cancer. Is there some chemical, some type of food, something all these women were exposed to, what could it be? What is the link and if it happened to this particular group, can it happen again? Is it something that passed down genetically, or is it “in the water”? I’m also wondering why not other groups of women in neighboring areas near the Ashkenazi Jewish women, aren’t at such a risk. So if this gene is so prevalent in this group, is there a group that is not at such a high risk? What can be done to find out this information? I guess just time and testing of as many women as possible will give us the information and data we so desperately need to really find out the what’s and why’s of the BRCA genes. Along the same lines, what can be done to raise awareness about BRCA genetic testing. Knowledge is power and the more you know, the better you can handle your body and the challenges. To me the chance of developing breast cancer up to 86% is ridiculously high. To figure out what can be done to either change this, learn more about this or stop the mutation, seems vital to discovering a cure for breast cancer.
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