Hello,
My name is Sarah Katsandres and I am a junior biology major and anthropology minor. I was interested in this course not only because I want to pursue a career in the health care field, but also because of personal interests. I believe that everyone in this class could probably say that they know someone who has been affected by cancer, or is currently battling cancer, which is somewhat of an alarming conjecture. I can name no less than 5 family members who have been diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetimes and I know many more family friends who have as well. I am interested in studying the biology of cancer simply because something so common should not seem to be so perplexing to scientists and oncologists and to the average person, yet it is. Cancer has always been such a large and overpowering mystery. It represents so many different ailments yet just the name itself is universally known. It touches all corners of the human population, along with other organisms. I am attracted to learning about cancer because no matter how extensively you study even the smallest aspect of it, you will never know everything. It fascinates me that we, as scientists and as ordinary people, have just barely begun to handle the issue of cancer and its effects on the population. The anthropology-enthusiast in me would find great satisfaction in sorting fact from fiction and learning more about the responses to cancer globally, including different cultures' treatments of, views on, and reactions to the true "emperor of all maladies," to use Siddhartha Mukherjee's perfect title.
A forum for all things cancer related. Brought to you by the Bio 179 students at Santa Clara University.
