Munroe+Anna

=10/20 Presentation: Lipitor= []#

=Project 1: Diets=

Link to the prezi presentation: []

media type="custom" key="23235088"

In this presentation, I analyze some of the diets that are most popular today. I have researched each diet and what it's goals and eating plans are. After that I wanted to find out if these diets, some more extreme than others, are as successful as they claim to be. I also wanted to find out the dangers posed by each diet, and what effect these drastic eating plans have on the body. The diets I analyzed: 1. Juice #|Cleanse Diets (Urban Remedy in particular) 2. The Paleo, aka Caveman, diet 3. The #|Mediterranean diet 4. The #|South Beach diet

To find out if they really are successful and what the drawbacks are, look at the presentation above!

=Project 2: Caffeine=

Researching the effects of caffeine on exercise, eating habits, digestive system (&stomach), brain, other parts of the body

Link to presentation: []

=Project 3: The Angelina Jolie Effect=

The BRCA gene test can let women know if they have a mutation in the BRCA 1 or 2 gene, a sometimes harmful mutation that can lead to things as dangerous as breast cancer. This mutation is inherited and sometimes women who have family histories of breast cancer and certain other types of cancer, such as ovarian, desire to be tested for it. Although the test is not routinely done and the mutation is extremely uncommon, recently there has been an explosion in the amount of women concerned about this mutation and the amount of women taking more drastic measures than just a gene test. Why is this happening? Because of the high profile actress, Angelina Jolie.

Angelina Jolie, known for her looks, her acting, her family, and her humanitarian works, has recently made the highly publicized decision to have a double mastectomy after realizing the genetic history of the breast cancer disease in her family.

What does a double mastectomy accomplish?
 * Removes both of the breasts and sometimes the lymph nodes in the armpit areas (in case of spreading)
 * After a mastectomy the patient will receive a pathology report
 * If the patient already had cancer, the mastectomy hopefully will remove it, if not they will be directed to more treatment
 * If they didn't already have it, it will hopefully remove the risk of breast cancer for the most part

They are calling it the "Angelina Effect" and a "medical earthquake". Her decision was aimed towards preventing breast cancer and inspiring women to make informed choices. She was genetically tested for a mutation in the BRCA1 gene and discovered that she had extreme chances of getting breast cancer or possibly ovarian cancer. Her mother passed away from breast cancer at an early age as did her aunt. Since then the amount of women seeking #|information about breast cancer prevention and gene testing has dramatically increased. Since her announcement, Cancer Council Victoria has reported a massive increase in the number of women calling their help line. On top of this, the Cancer Council is even #|hosting a national web seminar to help women get more information. Angelina's announcement has, as well as increasing the proactive attitude towards breast cancer prevention, increased the amount of anxiety in women and patients. The web seminar also wants to provide resources to help in the process of genetic testing. Traffic to the FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), a national support network for women dealing with hereditary breast (and ovarian) cancer, website and hotline has also spiked. Many genetic counselors believe that the spotlight on BRCA testing and the exposure to it is very beneficial for the health of women.

Are there down sides? Are there other options besides Angelina's?
 * #|Gene testing can open the gates for a whole series of issues and disease possibilities that the patient wasn't aware of.
 * They can go for regular MRI screenings and take action at the first sign of a tumor.
 * They can take drugs like Tamoxifen.
 * They can remove the ovaries instead, which decreases the risks of ovarian and breast cancer.
 * Removing the breasts has no influence on ovarian cancer, while the mutation of the BRCA gene often indicates both breast and ovarian cancer

My opinion? I personally think Angelina's decision is inspiring, but the extreme publicity can be a wonderful and not so wonderful thing at the same time. It is empowering for women to see such a bold move made by such a famous woman in society. She has not lost any of her femininity by making this move and is proud of the awareness she is bringing to this topic. I think the topic of breast cancer needs a spotlight on it. That is the only way that the disease will ever be stopped. 39,620 women are estimated to die from breast cancer in 2013 and it is one of the deadliest cancers. The new awareness women are showing about their health and wellness is a good thing, but I think too much focus on just the gene testing could be dangerous. Gene testing will not solve everything and the focus on it can lead to unnecessary paranoia. Women should fully research all of their options and all of the risks that could affect them.