Preventing Things Before They Happen

This Action Project is for my Spring S.T.E.A.M. class, Cure. In this unit, we learned about different disorders, how they affect the body, and how our immune system reacts when we have a disease in the body. In the course, we learned about experimental probability, which I didn't understand too much. For this AP, we had to pick a disease that could be hereditary and find out the risk of a fictional person in that is getting that disease and write out ways for the person to prevent it. I chose Breast Cancer for the disease in my family. Doing so, we also had to list ways that we could possibly prevent the disease, including a lot of factors. My patient has a very high risk of developing Breast Cancer, but the more people that can support the better. Here is my patient profile; enjoy.

Patient: Brittany Sanders

Age: 55

Race: African' American

Sex: Female

Height: 5"2

Weight: 123 pounds

Disorders trying to prevent: Breast Cancer' symptoms include a lump or mass in the breast. swelling of part of the breast, breast or nipple pain, and discharge.

The experimental probability that Brittany's family tree affects her chances: Brittany’s mother Mary Jane had breast cancer and so did her mother. 

                         J.L 2019

Risk assessment: African Americans are the second most likely to get breast cancer. Breast cancer death rates are 40% higher among black women than white women. Brittany exercises once a week, but she eats a lot of unhealthy food. She lives in the country and visits her care provider once every 1 year. She mostly eats fast food though which isn't so good all the time.

2 Medicaments: Tamoxifen and Raloxifene are the only drugs approved by the US to help lower the risk of Breast Cancer. 

Tamoxifen is used mainly to treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer (breast cancer with cells that have estrogen and/or progesterone receptors on them). Side effects include vaginal dryness and vaginal discharge. Rare effects include serious blood clots and cancer of the uterus.

Raloxifene is used mostly to prevent and treat osteoporosis (very weak bones) in post-menopausal women. It reduces the risk of invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have osteoporosis or who are otherwise at risk of invasive breast cancer. Side effects include early symptoms of menopause.

Nutrition plan: Start eating more of a plant-based diet: plants have rich sources of fiber that are great for helping the body.

Examples:

1 cup leafy greens- Collard greens, Lettuce, Spinach,

½ cup raw chopped vegetables- Bell peppers, Carrots, Broccoli, Onions, Asparagus

½ cup fruit (or the size of a tennis ball)- Apples, Pineapples, Blueberries, Watermelon

100% fruit or vegetable juice- Fruit smoothies, Tomato juice 

¼ cup dried fruit- Banana chips, Strawberry chips, Raisins 

Vitamins/Minerals: Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains normal mineralization of bone and to prevent hypocalcemic tetany. One pill a day would be very beneficial. A mineral/supplement that can be used to help the body is fish oils omega 3 fatty acids which appear to stop or slow down the growth and development of breast cancer cells. Take these once a day also.

Overall lifestyle recommendations: Exercise regularly, maintain a healthy and constant diet, try to reduce stress amount, and stay positive.

2 Alternative therapies: (Intended effect for all is to reduce cancer in the body and prevent further damage.)

Breast-conserving surgery– A surgery in which only the part of the breast containing the cancer is removed. The goal is to remove cancer as well as some surrounding normal tissue. How much of the breast is removed depends on the size and location of the tumor and other factors.

Mastectomy – A surgery in which the entire breast is removed, including all of the breast tissue and sometimes other nearby tissues. 

Chemotherapy- uses anti-cancer drugs that are given into the vein or by mouth. The drugs travel through the bloodstream to reach cancer cells and eliminate them.

3 Specific goals: January till December 2019 to start

• Eat healthily and track what you eat using an easy food app. (Myfitnesspal, Spark people and Lose it.) 

• Drink 8 bottles of water a day to maintain healthy body functions to flush out toxins.

• Visit the healthcare provider every 2-3 months

In conclusion making, risk assessments for your self earlier in your life can prepare you for the future. Knowing what might be passed down the family tree can be scary, but you can change some lifestyle choices and decrease the chance of getting any disease. This AP has taught me to look at my family tree more and be more careful of the things I do. Also, this reminded me to be prepared which the BS motto.

Works cited

“Breast Cancer and Vitamin D.” Healthline, Healthline Media, www.healthline.com/health-news/vitamin-d-may-reduce-risk-for-breast-cancer#1.

“Breast Cancer Prevention.” Stanford Health Care (SHC) - Stanford Medical Center, stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-clinics/cancer-nutrition-services/reducing-cancer-risk/breast-cancer-prevention.html.

“Breast Cancer Rates Among Black Women and White Women | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/research/articles/breast_cancer_rates_women.htm.

“Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer.” American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/treatment/chemotherapy-for-breast-cancer.html.

“Office of Dietary Supplements - Vitamin D.” NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/.

“Tamoxifen and Raloxifene for Lowering Breast Cancer Risk.” American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/risk-and-prevention/tamoxifen-and-raloxifene-for-breast-cancer-prevention.html.