UF Cancer and Genetics research building

On wednsday Nov. 16, 2006, The University of Florida unveiled the current largest research building in the state, housed right here on campus. The new center is located at the intersection of Gale Lemerand Drive and Mowry Road and was officially unveiled by Governor Jeb Bush. The center is host to researchers from both the Genetics Institute and UF Shands Cancer Center.
These researchers will be working in the most up-to-date environment with the latest technology, and high prospects for the future of the center. The idea for the UF research center was conceived in 1998 and has taken 8 years to fulfill the dream and it hopes to provide a better understanding of the disease.

My Short FIlm

My short film about the services provided by UF's Health Care Center for the students at the university.

Gabcast

Gabcast! Gabcast # 1 #1

UF's Student Healthcare Center

This week I created a video to help students familiarize themselves with the health services provided for them here, at the University of Florida. The video contains information and footage on where student's should go to receive health coverage, what they should expect when they get there and also tips on things to do after you've visited the center. I think that a majority of students, especially to my knowledge, don't take full advantage of the health services that the university has to offer. So I hope this video will help enlighten students about the great health care center that they can find right on campus. Enjoy.....{:*:}

Google Video, Gainesville Health

Check out this video I found at Google video, it's called Healthcare and Senior living in Gainesville and it's full of some familiar images in Gainesville.



Click Here to view the Google Video

Cancer Podcasts

This week I had the oppurtunity to spend time listening to several episodes of podcasts pertaining to my ongoing research of Cancer. I subscribed to three different podcasts, using my itunes music store, and listened to several episodes in the hopes of obtaining more information on cancer screening, detection, and treatment. The three podcasts I subscribed to were produced by the Yale Cancer Center, the Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention and NPR. All three of these programs were very insightful and formatted for educational purposes. The Programs posted by The Harvard Cancer Center and NPR were normally short, insightful commentaries which were entertaining; while the Yale Cancer Center's podcasts were longer and filled with several different programs of interviews and commentaries. I reccomend these website's for anyone seeking the latest information from the leading physicians on cancer news, prevention and treatment.


Subscribe to the podcasts online by visiting these websites:
The Harvard Cancer Center's Podcast

The Yale Cancer Center's Podcast

NPR's Cancer Podcast

Slideshow Flashlink

::Here is my Interview with the Bone-Marrow Unit's Floor nurse, Margo Chase-Dobrian, at Shands::

Click Here For Jacks Slideshow

Lung Cancer

I decided to research some of the latest news concerning this form of cancer. I ran across a particular article on the Shands Website, under the Cancer News section, about researchers in Norway who proposed surgical procedure as an alternative to current treatment. Doctors have only considered surgery with with stage I-II resectable disease which is a less advanced stage of lung cancer. Most other cases of lung cancer are treated with radiation therapy or cheo-therapy. The Norwegian researchers believe that surgical procedure can help improve the survival rate for lung cancer and they also believe that current therapy procedures for lung cancer are not effective.

Interview with Margo Chase-Dobrian

Today, for a class assignment, I had the pleasure to interview a nurse in the Bone Marrow Treatment Unit at Shands hospital. Her name is Margo Chase-Dobrian and she provided me with a lot of useful information about Bone-Marrow and the amazing procedures that the physicians in this department perform. One of the interesting things I learned was that Bone-Marrow is a procedure not only for Leukemia patients but also for patients sufferering from Lymphoma, Myeloma, Immune-deficiency and other blood diseases. The age of patients who undergo the surgery range from, in one case, a one-day old child all the way through to the elderely. I also learned of a recent medical advancement that allows doctors to preserve the blood from the umbilical cord from a newly born baby, and use it to perform the bone-marrow transplant. Advancements similar to these have made the procedure much more succesful in many ways, and although patients must still undergoe intensive chemo-therapy after their transplant procedure, doctors are able to utilize a variety of procedures to ensure a safe and effective transplant.

Smoking in College

I decided to research the subject of smoking and how it relates to cancer. I checked the American Cancer Society website and found a list of facts related to college students and smoking. What I found was quite disturbing but actually did not surprise me. According to the ACS, 28% of college students are smokers and half of those students have tried unsuccesfully to quit. The number of college students that smoke has risen over the years and most students say they began smoking at the age of 19, once they were in college. It seems as though the rate at which college kids smoke intensifies throughout their college years which is not good for their health.

Cancer Survivors in Gainesville

The Florida Alligator reported a story early in the summer about cancer survivors from the University of Florida, participating in an auction/ model show called Cure by Design to raise money for cancer research on campus. The students had all been previously diagnosed with cancer and survived and are helping to create awareness by sharing their personal experiences. Now, they attend UF and most of them are recipients of a scholarship given to student survivors, under the age of 21. These students had to struggle against overwhelming odd's and they survived; here today giving their time to promote awarenss and to help others afflicted by the same disease that they were afflicted by.

C.A.R.E.S

I have found a wonderful school organization, that promotoes cancer awareness and raises money for treatment through extracurricular activities and events. College Students for Cancer Awareness and Raising Emotions through Sports is a UF student organization that organizes events and activities to create greater awareness amongst the student population. the organization meets in the Reitz Union room 35, at 7:00 p.m on tuesday, and they hope to raise moeny in their next event, to help fund cancer research for pediatrics in the Dominican Republic.

1st UF Proton Therapy

Today in UF's Health Science Center, the news of the succesful completion of a Proton Therapy performed at the University of Florida. This new form of treatment is a much more effective alternative to treating cancers and tumors than previous x-ray treatments were. Now radiation oncologists at UF has become the fifth facility to use this new treatment for cancer patients. The patient, Ben Smith, was thrilled with the outcome of the operation, which removed most of the cancer in his prostate.

Staying Healthy

In doing my research I have come upon a number of articles discussing some of the causes of cancer, and among the many in the list was lack of exercise; which is attributedto a whole number of health issues, some of which can lead to cancer. So I did further research into the subject to see if there were any organizations that could help advocate exercise and healthy lifestyles to us overindulging college students. Well, I found one Gators On The Go, which is an on campus organization aimed at tackling obesity amongst our society and to create a greater awareness to our health and our lifestyles. This organization can help one jumpstart a healthy life and incoporate a lifestyle which is conducive towards a your health.

Colleges Against Cancer

Continuing my research....I have run across an organization within the healthygators website. Colleges Against Cancer is a collective group of college students who intend to create greater awareness, across all campuses, towards cancer. Their organization promotes 4 activities which are desigend to convey their message; they are Advocacy, Cancer Control, Relay for Life, and Cancer Survivorship. By concentrating on these four aspects they intend to not only encourage cancer awareness, but to also to help cancer survivors and provide them with a better quality of life; through fundraising programs and events.

UF Cancer Research

Today, I was researching for my topic on Cancer at UF when i ran across a UF scientific news article dated July 27, 2006. The article talked about a probe designed to detect cancer cells at a molecular level, was recently developed by scientists at the University of Florida. This new technique allows doctors and scientists to be able to detect cancerous cells at a much earlier stage than was previously possible. This scientificl breakthrough, that occured right here on our campus, is a positive step forward for the medical society in the fight against cancer.