Almost Finished

The research paper on the science of cancer and the awareness presentation, the two components of my final project, are both almost done now. About another hour or so and they will both be completed. I've really enjoyed immersing myself in this topic, and I'm pleased with what I've accomplished so far. I hope that my presentation will be as good as I want it to be, and that it will be informative and eye opening for everyone who watches it.
-Kevin

Surveys

All the surveys I printed out for the social part of my capstone project on cancer have been filled out and completed. There were 100 surveys in all, and the final few were handed out and handed back in the library tonight. I haven't had a lot of time to look through all of them, but it looked like people gave honest responses when they filled out their surveys. I'll post again about how I progress with these surveys.
-Kevin

Dr. Ruddy

Tonight, I was able to have a discussion, that will help me out a lot with my capstone project, with Dr. Kaite Ruddy. Mr. Igoe was able to bring me in touch with her, and we had a good half our conversation about cancer and how it affects people. Dr. Ruddy is a breast cancer oncologist, and she was able to tell me a lot about how cancer cells spread throughout the body, how cancer is fought with chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, and how people receive support from friends and family with their fights. Overall, it was very informative and a worth while call.
-Kevin

Reflection on Mother's Day

This Mother's Day has resonated with me more than any of the others I've celebrated so far in my life. When my mom was diagnosed with her cancer back in January of last year, I wasn't so much thinking of how to celebrate the holiday with my mom. I was more focused on whether she'd be around for any more holiday's to celebrate with the rest of my family and me. However now that she's been cleared by her oncologist as being cancer free, this has become a day to celebrate. Not having to worry about whether my mom would survive her battle with cancer has lifted a huge sigh of relief from my shoulders, and also from the shoulders of everyone who has helped her finish her fight.
-Kevin

The Awareness Presentation

The awareness presentation on cancer that I've been working on for a few days now is still in its early stages, but I think it's coming along quite nicely. With this presentation, I hope to talk a little bit about the science of cancer and how it develops, then go into how cancer has affected the people of our community at LA, and then finish with talking about how to interact with and help people who have been diagnosed with the horrible disease. I hope that the final version of this presentation will be done by Thursday morning, along with my paper, so that I will have plenty of time to practice it and rehearse what I'll say.
-Kevin

The Research Paper

The research paper on cancer I'm currently working on is still a work in progress, but I feel I've made strides of progress from where I was a few weeks ago. My knowledge of cancer and the science of how it develops has dramatically increased and I'm feeling much more comfortable with the topic now. I hope to have the polished final completed by Thursday morning, which should give me plenty of time to review it myself and have my peers do the same.
-Kevin

The Surveys...

The surveys, which I plan to hand out around school to help me with my awareness presentation, are now finally ready. The surveys will contain three questions, which will focus on how cancer has personally affected people within our community. These questions may be a little personal for people to answer, therefore I will make it known that filling out these surveys will be voluntary. This is what the survey will look like:
 -Kevin


Please answer the following questions by providing honest responses:


1. How many people have you personally known who have been diagnosed with cancer?
   
    0        1        2        3        4        5+

2. How many of those people beat their form of cancer?

    0        1        2        3        4        5+

3. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘cancer?’


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Progress Report

At the moment, I would say that I'm a little behind where I'd like to be with this project. My research paper is still a work in progress, and I hope to have that done within the week, and the awareness presentation is also a work in progress, with its deadline steadily approaching in two weeks. The presentation date of May 19th is now visible up ahead, and completing this project is becoming an uphill battle. Every other class has either assigned projects or is in preparation mode for AP exams, which means that now is the time to buckle down and get everything done.
-Kevin

Got a ways to go, pick up the pace
You can see the skin pulling off my face
Legs are aching when I'm taking a bow
But I won't stop feet don't fail me now
(Sprint, Ugly Duckling)

American Cancer Society

Throughout this project I've been doing on cancer, the American Cancer Society website has been a fantastic resource of which I've been able to use. The ACS website has an extensive amount of information on cancer, mainly how it develops and spreads throughout the body, and it has helped me a lot with both writing my research paper and preparing for my awareness presentation on cancer, both of which are still in the works however. Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout out to the ACS, and to everyone that is part of the organization for all the help they do in the fight against cancer.
-Kevin