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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. __________ trial and error continued.

2. Freireich was obsessed with continuing clinical trials. The combinations of drugs provided ______________ number of combinations.

3. After much investigation Bennett discovered that the patient's blood had an extremely high level of what cells?

4. The first official naming of cancer took place around 400 B.C. Hippocrates referred to it as "karkinos," the Greek word for _________.

5. What was this one physical place?

Short Essay Questions

1. How was the chemotherapy ward a battle ground in the 1970s?

2. Describe Min Chiu Li's work. Why did others believe further treatment was not necessary?

3. Who is Ben Orman? How is he significant to the study of cancer?

4. On what two fundamental tenets is biology based? Explain these tenets.

5. What important drugs came out in the 1940s and 1950s? How are these important to us today?

6. How is cancer a total disease? How is this important?

7. How could this battle regarding surgery be ended?

8. What did FDR do to fight cancer? What caused support of cancer research to wane? Why?

9. Describe the drug and cancer lists of Canellas and Frei. How is this significant?

10. Why did breast cancer clinical trials last ten years? How could these trials have been run better?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Mukherjee explains that biology is based on two fundamental tenets.

Part 1) What are those tenets? What leads him to discuss these tenets? How are they important to biology as well as to the study of and battle against cancer?

Part 2) For how long have these tenets been an important focus in the study of cancer? How has cancer research changed over time based on these tenets? Has the fight against cancer been more successful with the knowledge of these tenets? Why or why not?

Part 3) If these tenets are true, how does one get cancer? Why has a cure for all cancers not been found? Why do not all treatments for a type of cancer work 100 percent of the time? What does this say about cancer?

Essay Topic 3

In 1969, the New York Times published a letter to Richard Nixon.

Part 1) What did this letter say? Why did they write this open letter? How did Nixon respond? Why did he respond in this way? Would he have responded in this way if it had been a private letter sent to him? Why or why not?

Part 2) What does this letter reveal about the American public at the time it was written? What was their view of cancer? How had this changed from the importance, or lack thereof, of cancer research in previous years? Why?

Part 3) How important is cancer research today? Does the American public feel about cancer and cancer research the same as they did in 1969? Why or why not? How might Americans today use an open letter format to attract the attention of our president? What issues are important today? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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