Hi everyone! My name is Gabrielle Cromley and you may have read my past two blog posts about Finding a Cure for Cancer if not, take a look! (Blog #1 & Blog #2) This is my final blog post for my You and the World project and it includes my Agent of Change portion. The Agent of Change part is how I tried to make a difference for my cause which is finding a cure for cancer.

There was recently an article on Liberty Voice titled “Cancer Cure on the Horizon?” that described a possible new treatment called CART treatment (chimeric antigen receptor T-cells)  that has been extremely successful in patients who were not responding to chemotherapy like Emma Whitehead and Doug Olson who said, “As far as I’m concerned, I’m cured. I don’t ever think about relapse. I don’t. It’s like all of a sudden you can breathe.” The treatment involves stripping white blood cells from the blood then using a modified version of the HIV virus to reset the white blood cells in order to make the white blood cells attack the cancer when they return to the bloodstream. CART treatment basically “genetically re-engineers a person’s immune system”. One of the major downfalls to this treatment is that it makes the patient’s immune system even more vulnerable for a while and they could possibly die in that span of time. It has a while to go, but the treatment is currently undergoing tests and development in order to make it safer and possibly compatible for more types of cancer.

Although the treatment has had a large success rate in its patients, I think that there is still a lot more that has to be done to improve the treatment so it is less harmful. Before it can be used on the market, it has to be a less risky procedure so that it can be as effective as possible. The treatment has also been successful in mostly forms of leukemia. It should also be tested and altered if needed so that it can be utilized for other forms of cancer. I also believe that the researchers working on CART should attempt to use a different virus than HIV just in case something goes wrong with the virus. Though CART treatment needs to be advanced more, this could possibly be another treatment option for cancer patients that could be more successful for them.                                                                                                        

In order to try to make a difference in the fight to conquer cancer, I participated in and donated to Yoga on the Steps with my classmate, Talya Laver. I took part by doing yoga for about an hour and a half with many breast cancer survivors and supporters. We also sang and ate breakfast together and talked about other events going on to support cancer and ways that we can all help. Yoga on the Steps is an event that was created by Living Beyond Breast Cancer which has been doing this activity on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum for 13 years. So far, Philadelphia has raised about $276,000 out of it’s $310,000 goal, and donations are still being made until June 30, 2014. If you would like to help find a cure for cancer by donating to Yoga on the Steps, click here.

Yoga on the Steps wristband

Yoga participants filling the art museum steps

Talya Laver and I in a yoga pose feeling victorious over cancer.

Participants filling the steps and sidewalk in poses

I may not have made a colossal change by myself, but when thousands or sometimes millions of people donate to an organization to aid in eradicating cancer, it makes a huge difference. If you think that your contribution doesn't make a change, you’re wrong because it takes as many people as possible to fight against varieties of a worldwide, destructive diseases like cancer. One donation can give a patient treatment or pay for needed supplies and testing for research. I have made a change by being part of this difficult battle instead of dismissing it. This project has made me realize that with passion, generosity, and perseverance this is a fight that we can win, but there needs to be support from as many people as possible. During my Agent of Change, I was witness to so many people that were similar to me in that this was such an emotional cause for them. So many people care about this fight and strive to win, we just need more dedication like this to put a stop to cancer.

Although I am proud of the work that I have accomplished for this project there were things I did not have a chance to do. I wish I had raised more money for the Yoga on the Steps by creating a team or having some type of fundraiser. I also wanted to be able to participate in other events that I was not able to like the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure and the Light the Night walk for Lymphoma and Leukemia. The You and the World project has made me realize that with passion, generosity, and perseverance this is a fight that we can win, but there needs to be support from as many people as possible. Also, there are many events that happen in spring that fund cancer research, and many people can only participate in about one or two of these activities since they do not have a lot money to spend at once. So, I think that more of these fundraisers should happen during other seasons in order to generate maximum support. Donations, participating in walks and other events, volunteering, and helping cancer patients are all simple things that we can do in order to fight cancer.

Cancer does not stand a chance against an entire country or even an entire world fighting as one. Why would anyone not want to witness the pain that cancer causes come to an end? Everyone who knows someone who has been diagnosed with, died from, or is a survivor of cancer needs to dedicate their efforts to these people, because they are the ones who truly know how brutal and degrading cancer is to a person and to society. We all owe it to those people to gain vengeance against the horrid cancers that infest this world. With that being said, we must stand up together and battle cancer in anyway possible and never give up until its end. Thank you for reading my blog posts!

Hi again! As you may have read in my first blog post, my name is Gabrielle Cromley and I am doing a project called You and the World for my English class at Science Leadership Academy. I chose to write about finding a cure for cancer and how the lack of government funding is preventing researchers from saving lives. Since my last post, I have looked into the emotional and financial burden that cancer brings upon people.

Cancer brings just as much if not more emotional pain than physical. It causes depression, anxiety, distress, and fear in the patients and their loved ones. Below is an excerpt from a pamphlet about how cancer affects your emotional health by the American Cancer Society. Click here to read more.

“In people with cancer, these feelings may be caused by many things, including changes in how they are able to fill family or work roles. A person with cancer might feel the loss of control over life events, and have to deal with changes in body image. They might feel grief at the losses and changes in their lives that cancer brings. They might fear death, suffering, pain, or all the unknown things that lie ahead. Family members and caregivers may have these feelings, too. They are often afraid of losing their loved one. They may also feel angry because someone they love has cancer, frustrated that they “can’t do enough,” or stressed because they have to do more at home.”

As for the financial effects of cancer, it does not only have an impact on patients and their families but on our entire nation”s economy. For patients, their medical bills depend on their method of treatment and the severity of their illness. Cancer is a very expensive illness to treat and research. Research is so expensive since there are so many types of cancer and there is a lot of needed equipment and supplies that go into it. This is also a global issue since, “More people (in the world) die from cancer every year around the world than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined,” as stated in The Global Burden of Cancer by the Livestrong Foundation. If we could globally fight cancer, we would probably be on the edge of finding a cure. This is not currently possible, because world peace does not seem to be achievable yet. Till then, we should fight against cancer as much as we can internationally by researching with other countries that we are at peace with.

As part of my own research, I created a survey which I sent throughout my school and posted all over my social networks. The point of my survey was to learn how much people are informed on this subject and what their opinions are about this issue. Also, adults and kids my age responded to this survey. The results of my survey revealed that people are not informed on how much the government funds to cancer research, the effects of medical malpractice, and that they only had pretty vague understandings of what cancer is. Most of the responses to the question, “What is your understanding of cancer?”, said that it is a deadly and terrible disease that is caused by abnormal cell growth and reproduction. They did not state the emotional, mental, physical, and financial toll that it has on its victims, their families, and our world as a whole. Also, 83% of the people who filled out the survey know someone who has been affected by cancer. The results from the question, “Do you think there is enough federal funding for cancer research,” were that 53% of the people did not know how much the government funds cancer research, 37% said that there should be more funding towards finding a cure, and only 3 people answered that there is enough funding. To view the rest of the results of my survey, click here.

Part of Survey Results

The outcome of my research supports my claim that people are uneducated on funding and the repercussions that cancer has on people. I also learned that people know little about infections within cancer patients, but that they are somewhat familiar of what medical malpractice is. The results indicate that many people care about this cause and they want to make a change, but the negligence of the government to fund toward this issue is restraining our potential. I learned that my topic is important to many people and that cancer is more common than it is thought to be. People are willing to support, but they are going to begin to give up if there isn’t a change in the governments priorities. Not even just cancer, scientific research itself should be more of a priority to United States and to the world, because science and technology is the gateway to the future.

There is already a lot of awareness about finding a cure for cancer, but there is not a lot of pressure on the government to put the people’s ideas into action. In order to bring the government’s attention to this subject there needs to be an effort by people everywhere to contact their representatives, join groups that support cancer/scientific research to take part in their activities, and stand up to make a difference instead of sitting back and waiting for others to take charge. There should also be more awareness to aiding cancer patients and their loved ones with the effects of cancer that I spoke about previously. Anybody can help by volunteering, donating to families suffering from the financial struggle or to hospitals that do not charge families for their medical needs like St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital. There needs to be a lot of people to fight to make these changes which is why we all must take a stand.

Even after my research, I still wonder about other people’s points of view. I want to know what doctors who are affected by funding and people who work for the government or are in Congress think. This would allow me to hear arguments that oppose and support this problem. I would also like to learn more about how research funding is spent.

For our You and the World project, each student must put their ideas into action so that they can make a change for their cause. This part of the project is called the Agent of Change. To make a change in cancer research, I am planning on creating my own team for the Race for the Cure Walk in Philadelphia. I will set a goal for my fundraising, get sponsors, and donate to finding a cure. This will also allow me to meet cancer survivors and interact with people who are also fighting for this cause. I hope to be able to fulfill this goal, but setting up a team requires a lot of support and hard work which I am willing to put forth.

Hi readers! Welcome back to my You And The World (YATW) project. Last time, in my Blog Post #1, I was looking into Financial Education. What I found was that Financial Education is a real taboo in America, even though it is one of the most important things to have. Since then, I have looked a lot more into this, and have seen a lot more information.

First of all, If anyone is looking for a professional look on Financial Education, please look for some videos of Suze Orman. She makes very good points, and knows a lot about this topic. I have learned much from her.

Second of all, I’d like to update you all on my research. I have been doing some of my own research (surveying and interviewing) and have come up with some personalized data. An Annotated Bibliography, a Survey Analysis, and link to all of the survey information, including the survey itself, is here.

All that I found was basically this: Financial Education is a real taboo. Most people don’t know their income or what they’re spending on. However, all of the survey takers knew what kind of Financial Support they received. Another thing that I found was that, even though there was a wide range of Financial Education, reaching all across my 1-10 scale, almost every single person was taught outside of school. Most people were taught by parents or mentors, or even taught themselves. All of this information makes me think that Financial Education needs to be taught a lot more on a bigger and more important scale.

I am hoping to learn more about this, because I didn’t learn all that I wanted to about Financial Education. How does America budget? What is the average ratio of spending to saving, and spending to income? What percentage of ALL Americans receive Financial Support? All of these and more could be important to my teaching.

Now on to the future. Ahead of me is the Spring. I will be performing an Agent of Change Service Project. All of my research has lead up to this. I will be planning with some teachers at Science Leadership Academy, along with some teachers at Independence Charter School, to create a lesson plan to teach some children.

I am hoping to teach at least one class of First graders, one class of Third graders, and one class of Eighth graders. I will also be teaching a more advanced lesson to some high schoolers (if I can). This is a work in progress, but so far I have some notes about how the lesson might go. They are here.

If you have any other suggestions as to things I should see, topics I should research, or more subjects I should teach, feel free to leave a comment. I am also open to any suggestions as to where I should take this next. I am looking to continue this education onward and outward, past YATW. I want to teach more at ICS and SLA, and more at other places as well. The world needs to hear more about Financial Education, and there needs to be more of a teaching force.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If there’s anything at all, please feel free to comment!

Felix

Some extra information:

Your Income Level (Optional)

Less than $30,000 a year [5] 21%

$30,000-50,000 [0] 0%

$50,000-70,000 [5] 21%

$70,000-90,000 [4] 17%

$90,000-110,000 [2] 8%

$110,000-130,000 [0] 0%

$130,000-150,000 [2] 8%

Don’t Know [6] 26%

Do you receive Financial Aid/Support? (Optional)

Yes [5] 19%

A little bit [4] 15%

No [17] 65%

Don’t Know [0] 0%