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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. "The Emperor of all Maladies" begins with the tale of Carla Reed, a _______ year old kindergarten teacher from Ipswich, MA.

2. Virchow ultimately referred to the disease as "weisses Blut" or ___________. In 1847 the name was changed to leukemia.

3. In 1937 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the ________________ Act.

4. Orman had cancer where?

5. One morning, Carla awoke with a bad headache which she described as __________________.The pains and other symptoms waxed and waned. Although Carla had seen a doctor, there was no solid diagnosis. Eventually, it was determined that Carla had leukemia.

Short Essay Questions

1. How was this letter to Richard Nixon significant at the time?

2. How could this battle regarding surgery be ended?

3. Why was John Bennett wrong?

4. What are the two schools of thought regarding surgery? Why was this such a problem?

5. What did Moya Cole think of Halsted's theories? Why?

6. How does chemotherapy reverse Paracelsus' belief about poison and drugs?

7. Why did Sidney Farber change professions? How might this have been a somewhat difficult adjustment?

8. What were the two major arguments regarding current cancer treatments? Why?

9. What is meant by counting? Why does this matter?

10. What were the problems with VAMP? How might these be corrected?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In 1775, Percival Pott noticed a shocking number of his patients suffered from scrotal cancer.

Part 1) Why had this increase occurred? Why were many of cases such as these ignored? What does this say about society at this time? How does this lead to studies into the effects of tobacco and cigarettes?

Part 2) When was it finally determined that tobacco and cigarettes cause lung cancer? Why did it take so long? Why is cigarette smoking still allowed, even though it is known that it causes cancer? What role has the tobacco industry played in the continued purchasing and popularity of cigarettes?

Part 3) How has the view of smoking begun to change? How is this seen in our society including restaurants, bars, and even on television and in movies?

Essay Topic 2

The late 1940s and 1950s brought the world a great number of new pharmaceuticals.

Part 1) What are four of these pharmaceuticals? What is the purpose of these pharmaceuticals? How is this growth in medicine significant?

Part 2) How have we been affected by these new pharmaceuticals? How different would the field of medicine be today if it were not for these new medicines?

Part 3) What problems have these new medicines caused? What issues must we now deal with in which these new types of medicine are at least partially to blame? How might these problems change the world of medicine yet again?

Essay Topic 3

James Watson is quoted as saying, "The National Cancer Institute, which has overseen American efforts on researching and combating cancers since 1971, should take on an ambitious new goal for the next decade: the development of new drugs that will provide lifelong cures for many, if not all, major cancers. Beating cancer now is a realistic ambition because, at long last, we largely know its true genetic and chemical characteristics." Part 6, p. 393

Part 1) What does this quote reveal about the mindset regarding cancer at the time? Is this a realistic mindset? Were these realistic goals? Why or why not?

Part 2) Is this the view of many today regarding cancer? Do many believe that cancer can be eradicated in the next decade? Why or why not?

Part 3) Do you believe that cancer will ever be eradicated? Why or why not? Can any disease ever be completely eradicated? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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