Drew's+Cancer+HW

1. The article begins by mentioning two important people with cancer. Who is Elizabeth Edwards? Who is Tony Snow? (This article was written 03/07/07. As a part of this question find out what has happened in the year and a half since this article was written with respect to the cancer of Ms. Edwards and Mr. Snow. Include a link to your sources.)

Tony Snow died and Elizebeth Edwards lived. 2. What is a metastatic cancer cell? It is a cancer cell that can spread to other parts of the body.

3. Why does the author call cancer cells barbarians and cannibals? Barbarian cells are the colonist cells and the cannibal refers to how they eat themselves

4. What do we know about the events that transform a normal cell to a cancer cell? There are genetic mutations that make the cell think that is being stimulated by growth hormone when it is not.

5. Why is harder to study metastatic cancer cells? Because the cells move

6. How many cells do primary tumors shed each day (in a rodent)? Yet how many metastatic tumors do these rodents have? Billions yet these rodents have only millions

7. Describe two ways metastatic cells can travel through the body avoiding detection from our immune system. The cells act as parasites and slim down to the size of bacteria and attract platlets and blood cells to protect them.

8. Where is the first site (oasis for the cancer cell) that metastasis generally occurs? Why? Why is it an oasis? (What is an oasis?) Wound sites. It is easier to get in.

9. What is a dormant micrometastasis? Why are they relevant to human health?

10. What evidence do we have that metastasis occurs in organs that are similar to the organ of the primary tumor? Give two examples. Breast to bone and melanoma to brain.

11. Find a current (published in last 2 months) news article (from a national source) about cancer. Post a link to the article and write a 75-100 word summary.