The Effects Of Cancer Paved The Road For My Life

During my freshman year in high school, a highly malignant tumor was discovered on the back of my cranium. It had eroded my skull and was starting to leak into my brain. It was removed with no complications, but I was required to visit MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX for several years to check for any recurrence. Through this experience, I witnessed the fragility of life. A spark was ignited in me to pursue medicine and discover ways we could prevent cancer and other illnesses. I was immersed into the hospital setting and shadowed physicians of all types to find my possible niche. By studying the sciences, I feel I can have the greatest advantage in empowering myself and others. The STARS program would be crucial in allowing me to

I consider science as my playground where I question nature’s rules and break them to witness phenomena. The possibilities that science can offer and what scientists can conduct keeps my curiosity active in learning how I can be part of the science community. When I was informed that my mother was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, I struggled to support her emotionally and felt unknowledgeable about the disease and her treatment. To understand my mother’s treatment and how she healed, I challenged myself to excel in every AP science course my high school offered to learn the foundation of science. Throughout my science courses, I drowned many times because the concepts were demanding. However, my passion for science and my mother’s condition kept me striving on. After various science classes, I felt passion was not enough and wanted to expand my abilities in a health environment. This led me to volunteer at an

People tend to usually tremble when hearing the unpleasant word “Cancer”. Imagine being the one diagnosed with this horrible illness. More and more people in today’s society are struck with certain health issues such as diabetes, obesity, heart diseases and many more. Cancer is the at the top of this horrible chain of problems. Based on my experiences, someone that is diagnosed with cancer, does not realize how life can change so rapidly for them. Their whole lifestyle changes and they have a different outlook on life. Not until a person experiences a family member going through cancer, is he/she able to understand how important spending time with family really is.

After graduating high school, I was accepted to Alabama State University and decided to study Biology. I figured that this area would help me study living organisms, life processes and understanding the basic life processes that required different medical provisions. I believed that I would eventually find out if I wanted to studying medicine or counsel people. On May 7, 2011, I graduated from Alabama State University with my Bachelor’s degree in Biology. Then I volunteered at Jamaica Hospital emergency room alongside the medical providers and interact with the families of those who are medically

My paternal grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 7yr old. At this age, I was too young to comprehend what was going on, but I do remember the significance of the situation and the impact that it had on my entire family. It truly influenced me. My research done on Radiation Therapy substantiates that this field has a strong impact on people’s lives both physically and mentally. Within this past year my maternal grandmother was also diagnosed with breast cancer. Seeing the effect that a positive support system can have as well as the success that the radiation therapy has had on her has reinforced my desire to be able to pursue a career that would allow me to help people get through tough times in their lives by being able to provide physical care as well as emotional support.

My father’s journey and the medical care provided for him inspired me to seek a career in the

The person who first sparked my interest in pursuing a career in medicine was my Mom. She used to tell me a story and say “you are one of my many miracles sweetie.” After being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and undergoing multiple rounds of chemo and radiation, the doctor told my Mom she would

In college, I was proficient in science courses especially when it came to analyzing data and coming to a conclusion. Therefore, my desire was to become a research scientist. While in school, I worked as the head veterinary technician at an animal hospital. During this time, I formed a respectable and valuable relationship with the doctor. Working for him was like getting paid for learning. He took every opportunity to explain and teach the details of a disease or diagnosis. I learned something new every day and I loved it. While treating the animals at the hospital was the main priority, forming relationships with the clients was also of vital importance. A favored responsibility of mine was client education. This gave me a chance to have direct human interaction by teaching clients how to care for their sick pet at home. Demonstrations included diabetes

My degree encouraged me to keep abreast of current medical advances and biomedical techniques, providing a strong foundation in human biological concepts and allowing me to explore the aetiology and molecular mechanisms of disease. During the course I was continually mindful of my own end goal of working as a Doctor and sought to ensure

I discovered Sommer Hayden, a genetic counselor specializing in cancer genetics based out of the Midland branch of the Mid-Michigan Health network. Sommer kindly allowed me to shadow her for an afternoon, where she explained to me the preparation undertaken prior to an appointment with a patient. I observed Sommer with a patient as well as she counseled them for testing of HBOC. I can still remember how I hung on Sommer’s every word, amazed at how she was using her knowledge of science and genetics to educate and counsel the patient in a way that they could easily understand. At the close of our day, Sommer mentioned that she would be in need of an intern in the summer months and suggested that I apply for the

During my sophomore year, I became depressed and antisocial due to problems in my life. My mother has been sick with a brain tumor since 2009 and she was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2012. It has been very hard on me and especially for my mother. I worry about her because she has shown signs of severe depression, she often talks about that she would rather be dead than alive anymore. After all of the pain, all of the humiliation of not being able to walk well, the embarrassment of not being able to write well, all of the staring and comments I would hear about my mother, she is still strong. After 6 years of pain and suffering along the way, I do not blame her. Everything seems to get worse. She now needs surgery due to avascular necrosis that was caused by many years of chemotherapy. I began to lose motivation slowly because I did not have any friends in any of my classes and I felt like I was stuck in a

While in college, I developed an interest in health. I must say that my interest for health did not prepare me for the unforeseen health obstacles that I had to go through in order to complete my bachelor’s degree. My journey was rough. Especially, when I had doctor visits along with paranoia. Then there were the biopsies of the breast and this was my last year attending EIU. I commuted to school everyday, worked two jobs, and took care of my motherly duties to my two kids by myself. I was

I chose to major in Pre-Professional Health Sciences because I want to become a medical scientist, conducting my own research. The reason behind this is not as straightforward as a simple desire for a medical career. Instead, my Dad’s passion and entrepreneurial attitude acted as a catalyst, triggering my longing to make my own medical breakthroughs. I was the kid with antiques and jewelry strewn all over the house because my Dad enjoyed buying collectibles to resell online. He eventually decided to make this hobby into a job because his adoration for hearing the stories associated with each item was worth more than any amount of money. In fact, my Dad’s ingenuity in starting his own company sparked my creativity and kindled the fire of my

After a while of sitting in my grandparents living room mindlessly playing with my toys I decided to get up. I walked towards the commotion going on in the small hallway connecting the living room to the kitchen. The gathering of people consisted of my mom, dad, grandpa, and grandma. Curious about what was going on I walked over to the group. I reached my mom and looked up to see that her eyes were bloodshot, as if she had been crying. I looked over to my dad and his face, like everyone else's, was grim. During this time I kept hearing one repeating word, cancer. I started to listen more closely to the conversation going on around me because even at the age of seven I knew that cancer was bad news. I listened intently and heard my mom explain how she had colon cancer.

Jack woke up one morning not feeling well. He felt very weak and could not get out of bed. His mother decided to take him to the doctors. The doctors took many tests to figure out what was making him feel that way. After about an hour or two the doctors got the results back from a blood test. Results that would change Jack’s childhood for the worse. Jack has been diagnosed with Leukemia, a blood cancer. Of course, Jack was not sure what that meant but, his parents became worried beyond belief with the long road ahead of them. Scientists and researchers were all involved in the discovery of Leukemia cancer, which increased knowledge of this cancer, decreased deaths and discovered treatments, and started charity groups to fund research.