My Comments on Two Classmate's Blogs

For this week I have chosen two of my classmate's blogs which I found extremely interesting and correlated with my blog regarding American Cancer Society. First, I chose Alyssa’s Blog which focuses on the food industry, specifically fast food. Alyssa’s blog immediately caught my attention because I have been recently learning about the crisis of obesity in our country, and how the fast food industry is contributing to this crisis. For my blog I have been focusing on American Cancer Society, when I began to read Alyssa’s blog it immediately triggered the concept of Choose You.  ACS has developed a new program where they are promoting healthy living, healthy eating, and exercise. The fast food industry is truly hurting our nation and causing many people to develop illnesses due to the unhealthy components of these foods. I felt that Alyssa’s blog was very intriguing and I really enjoyed reading the articles which she provided; such as, the article of consumer's ratings of top burgers, and the Taco Bell article. I look forward to reading more of her posts throughout the semester.             

The second blog which I chose is Sacha’s Blog. When I came across Sacha's blog I was excited because it coincides with my blog which is a Non-profit organization. While reading the blog I found it extremely shocking to find out about the Red Cross in the article about Ethics and Nonprifts. I did not know that the Red Cross had an issue regarding ethics, and to find out that many of the donations people were giving were not really going to what they thought was truly shocking for an organization as well known as the Red Cross. I also really enjoyed reading about Habitat for Humanity in Sacha’s blog regarding research results. When reading this section I completely agreed with her that research is truly a vital tool for non-profit organizations. For American Cancer Society research is one of the main components which can help the organization as a whole. I really enjoyed reading my classmate's blogs and I look forward to reading more posts this semester.

Research Results

     This week I will be focusing on the importance of results through ones research. Research is a vital component to the American Cancer Society. ACS is constantly doing cancer research to try to find a cure; as well as, help understand and prevent cancer. Each year American Cancer Society presents a Cancer Fact and Figure report with all results from their research within the year. This report consists of questions and answers, figures, statistics, and much more. I highly recommend reading this Report if you have a chance it truly is eye opening and allows one to see how many people cancer is affecting year after year.

      According to the report,“This year, about 569, 490 Americans are expected to die of cancer, more than 1,500 people a day.” Cancer is the second most common death in the United States; Cancer is likely to be 1 out of every 4 deaths. From the results of the facts and figures written by ACS, I found it extremely interesting that they were able to predict the amount of new cases of cancer in each state in 2010. In the state of CT, ACS stated that 20,750 new cases of all sites will be diagnosed. This report truly is amazing; it allows readers to see different statistics involving cancer and all of the different types. One of the most shocking facts which I read in the report results was how in 2010 an estimated 207,090 cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed for women and 1,970 diagnosed in men. When reading this report I was extremely interested in seeing the results regarding lung cancer. What many do not know is that lung cancer accounts for more deaths than any other cancer in both men and women. According to the research results found in the report, 157,300 deaths are expected to occur in 2010. Since the year 1987 more women have died from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer. Overall this report is truly a remarkable example of how research can impact an organization. From this research ACS was able to publish these results which are extremely vital to cancer research.

If you would like to read more about American Cancer Society's Facts and Figures Please visit this section of their Website.

Research Ethics

    

       For this week’s blog  regarding Research Ethics, I wanted to find an aspect of Cancer Research which American Cancer Society is directly involved. I have found an article on their website of a new research study they are doing . This new study is known as Cancer Prevention Study - 3 (CPS-3). The American Cancer Society’s Epidemiology Research Program is inviting men and women ages 30-65, who have no personal history of cancer to be a part of this research study. This specific research study could be a historical event for American Cancer Society. The ultimate goal of this study is to “enroll 500,000 adults from various racial/ethnic backgrounds from across the U.S. By joining CPS-3.” This can help ACS understand and provide how to prevent cancer.

      Within a Research study it is crucial to understand the importance of Confidentiality and Ethics. For example, American Cancer Society has a section on their website in regards to CPS-3 and Ethics. ACS explains how,

“All institutions that conduct or support research with human subjects are subject to regulatory requirements and are to be guided by the ethical principles of The Belmont Report. In 1974, Congress passed the National Research Act which created the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research.”

This particular commission wrote the Guidelines and Ethical Principles for the protection of human subjects taking part in research studies.  ACS explains how “The Belmont Report contains the ethical principles upon which the federal regulations for protection of human subjects are based.” I found this very interesting to read and it showed me the true importance of Ethics in regards to Research.

Blogs Focus

For my Blog this semester I will be focusing on the influence of research within the Non-Profit organization American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society is a Non-Profit nationwide organization dedicated to eliminating cancer."Together with our millions of supporters, the American Cancer Society (ACS) saves lives and creates a world with less cancer and more birthdays by helping people stay well, helping people get well, by finding cures, and by fighting back" (www.cancer.org). American Cancer Society celebrates, remembers and fights back against cancer through multiple events throughout the year from Relay for Life events, to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks. Cancer affects thousands of individuals and families across the nation each year. Everyone who has passed away in my family has been from Cancer, so ACS is truly an organization which I am passionate about.
     
This summer I worked as an intern at the American Cancer Society. The opportunity to work in the communications department at ACS allowed me to see how the organization works as a team; and they are truly and amazing organization helping others each and every day. I am looking forward to learning more about the organization as a whole, and seeing how the aspect of research helps their organization.

Over this semester, I would also like to investigate the different types of research methods the organization uses for their year to year statistics on cancer; or any other type of research needed for their organization. I have posted links on my blog if you would like to read more about American Cancer Society or ACS events such as Relay for Life, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and even their newest addition Choose You.