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Cancer Risks:
Cancer
is a disease that might result
from one or many factors,
including your genes, your
environment, your diet, or
from changes that happen
inside your body. In cancer,
certain cells in your body
start to grow and divide out
of control. Eventually, these
cells form clumps of
unhealthy, fast-growing cells
that interfere with your
body’s normal functions. In
this lesson, you will learn
more about cancer and examine
some of the possible causes of
this disease.
Lesson
I
Read
the article Toxicville
and answer the following
questions
(type questions & answers)
1.
What community/communities are being affected by cancer?
2.
Who is developing cancer?
3.
Explain the alleged causes of cancer according to the article
4.
How have communities reacted to the high incidence of cancer?
5.
How have local government and health agencies responded?
6.
What conclusions can you draw from the article about the relationship
between cancer and the
environment?
7.
What other types of information might you need to convince you that
these cancers are due to
chemicals and pollutants in
the environment?
8. Read and summarize an Additional story: [Another
Tom's River Story] * [A
Call to Civil Action - Woborn]
* [Schools
and Pesticides]
[Symptoms
of Pesticide Poisoning
Lesson
II
Many
serious disorders, including
cancer, can arise from a
combination of inherited risk
factors and environmental
conditions. Researchers have
identified a growing number of
gene-related diseases. This
also has led to an increased
importance of genetic testing
to screen for these
conditions. In this part of
the lesson, you will learn
some basic information about
the genetic connection to
cancer risks by reading
excerpts from Understanding
Gene Testing, a booklet
prepared by the National
Cancer Institute and the
National Center for Human
Genome Research. Specifically,
you should read these
chapters:
After you have read the
excerpts, answer the
questions.
(type questions & answers)
1.How
do gene mutations occur?
2.
What are the factors that can
determine the outcome of a
gene mutation?
3.Do
most cancers result from
random mutations in one’s
lifetime or from an inherited
mutation?
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