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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 ____________________ refers to something that moves incessantly but never gets anywhere.

2. People began to talk about _________________ and did not want to wait for the trials to be completed or for the FDA to approve the new treatment.

3. It was a risky prediction to attempt to verify untested theories through what?

4. In the 1960s, Bruce Ames at Berkeley stumbled upon a test for what?

5. How was this letter first seen?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Carla say she survived? Is this valid? Why or why not?

2. Who were virologists?

3. Who were the successors of Theodor Boveri?

4. Mukherjee discusses the successes of others in this story. Why does he credit the survival of patients to the work of those in the 1950s and 1960s?

5. Who was George Papanicolaou? How was his work important?

6. What is the Red Queen Syndrome?

7. Why was the battle to attack pre-cancer versus full blown cancer significant?

8. What are the similarities between AIDS and cancer? Is this important? Why or why not?

9. Why did doctors dismiss the cancer found in chimney sweeps? How did cancer continue to be dismissed by others throughout time?

10. What is the role of a clinician? What type of people are suited for this work?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

John Bennett was a Scottish physician in the 1800s.

Part 1) What discovery did he make? What were his assumptions about this discovery? Why might he have come to this conclusion? How was he wrong?

Part 2) Describe the work of Rudolf Virchow. How did his studies and conclusions compare to Bennett's? How did this affect what is known about cancer and specifically leukemia? How had knowledge of cancer developed up to this point? What important studies and cases led to the naming of leukemia in 1847?

Part 3) How did studies after the 1840s lead to even more understanding of cancer and specifically leukemia? Has this led to a significant amount of success? Why or why not? Has cancer research seen as much success as other areas of medical study? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

It was once said that all drugs are poison.

Part 1) Why was this believed by Paracelsus? Would you agree? Why or why not? Would most doctors today agree with you? Why or why not?

Part 2) How is this statement flipped with discussing cancer? What does this reveal about cancer research throughout time? What does this say about the dangers of cancer research?

Part 3) Do you believe that this can still be said about cancer research today? Is it as experimental as it once was? Why or why not? Would you have participated in these experimental trials? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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