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Zoe M

Page history last edited by ZoeM 12 years, 11 months ago

 

 

 

My Beautiful Work

 

 

The Kid's Cancer 

          Millions of people are affected with health problems every hour, some worse than others. Little kids scrape themselves while riding a bike, while at the same time somebody is told that they are going to die. The range of health problems is incomprehensible.  Leukemia, a terrible cancer, is one of the worst. Although it does affect adults, it specifically targets innocent little kids. This disease is widely misunderstood, but in fact there are ways that we can prevent these children from dying.

 

Definition

          Specifically, Leukemia is a “Cancer of the leukocytes or white blood cells,” as the Crompton’s Encyclopedia describes it. When a person has Leukemia it means that their supply of white blood cells is weakened against foreign microbes and viruses. There is an abundance of the cells, usually too many, but most of them are messed up or abnormal. Although Leukemia is a cancer, it is not associated with tumors as most cancers are. Also, Leukemia can affect both humans and animals.

 

    Types of Leukemia

          There are many slight variations of Leukemia, while they all have about the same affects. There are two main groups of Leukemia; cancer that starts in the granulocyte white blood cells which is called myeloid  Leukemia and the cancer that started in lymphocytes which is known as lymphocytic Leukemia. There are also two other groups of Leukemia called Acute and Chronic. Leukemia classified as acute is fast acting with many symptoms displayed at a time. Chronic Leukemia is more of a slowly progressing cancer that holds on to its symptoms for a long time. Chronic Leukemia is a more mild disease.  The two different groups of two can be overlapped. These overlaps create the forms of Leukemia.

Examples of these are ALL ( Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia), CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia), AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia), and CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia). Looking at the name, you can collect different characteristics of the form of Leukemia. For example, ALL is a fast acting (acute) cancer that was formed in the Lymphocytic cells (Lymphocytic) form of Leukemia (Leukemia).

    Causes

              The cause of Leukemia is still unknown, although some scientists have some idea. Among these possible causes are exposure to radiation, viruses, and environmental chemicals. Also, scientists are researching what coming in contact electromagnetic substances can do to you. Some say that one rare form of ALL is caused by a virus that is similar to the one that causes AIDS. Leukemia can be passed down through genes. The gene can pass some generations and then show up in the next. Leukemia is more likely to show up in Children and adults with Down Syndrome and Fanconi’s Syndrome.

 

    Signs and Symptoms

          Signs and symptoms are wide spread among the different forms of Leukemia although they do vary on their intensity and rate of occurrence. Some of these include sudden high fevers, out of the ordinary bleeding, easy bruising, weakness in the joints and muscles, chills, fatigue, weight loss, headaches, confusion, paleness, swollen lymph nodes, and night sweating. In cases of Leukemia labeled Acute, symptoms usually come on more suddenly and with more force. On the contrary, Chronic Leukemia symptoms slowly progress but are never as bad as  Acute Leukemia. Although these symptoms are true of most Leukemia, what ones show the most is dependent on the number of abnormal white blood cells.

 

    Treatment

          There are many different treatments that have been designed specifically to get rid of the cancer, but almost all Leukemia patients go through the Phases of Treatment. This includes induction, consolidation , and maintenance. In the phase of induction, physicians attempt to kill as many cells as possible. In the consolation phase, they try to kill all of the remaining cancerous cells. Lastly, in the maintenance phase, the physicians try and keep the Leukemia away forever.


         One of the main options of treatment is Chemotherapy. It is a drug that helps kill off cancerous cells. Depending on the specifics a persons Leukemia, there are different kinds of the drug that they could possibly use. Side effects of Chemotherapy are hair loss, nausea, vomiting, and bad tasting food. Another form of treatment is Radiation. It is used to stop the growth of the cancerous cells. Radiation is actually a powerful x-ray that is pointed at a specific spot on the person’s body in order to kill the cancer cells. It is a lot like the x-rays that you get at the dentist. Radiation and Chemotherapy are the two main treatments, but there are also the options of leukapheresis, bone marrow transplant, stem cell transplant, and surgery. Leukapheresis is a form of treatment where the patients blood is pumped through a machine. The machine attempts to kill all of the cancerous cells inside of the blood. Bone marrow and stem cell transplants are when the patients bone marrow or stem cells are switched with a person that matches their marrow and stem cells. Patients usually have surgery when they have an enlarged spleen or liver.

Before these treatments were invented and refined even attempting a treatment was a huge risk. Some of the treatments that were used were poisons, drugs that were made for other diseases, and crazy diets. All of these were ineffective.  Now that we do have these more modern treatments, most cases of Leukemia are curable.

Leukemia in Children

          Out of all children with cancer, 25% of them have Leukemia. This makes 2,200 innocent children that are affected by Leukemia in America each year. To add to this, most kids get the acute forms of Leukemia. Although numbers are depressing, with today’s treatments, there is about an 81% living rate. The options for treatments for kids are radiation, chemotherapy, other drug therapies, and bone marrow and blood cell transplants.

Celebrities with Leukemia

          Anyone can get Leukemia, even celebrities. Some include:

-Mr. T (Lawrence Tureaud) is in remission                                 from his T-Cell Lymphoma

- Paul Allen the co-founder of Microsoft

-Andres Gallaraga the professionall baseball player

-Bill Walsh a coach for the San Francisco 49ers football team, died at age 75.

-Robin Bush (George W. Bush’s sister) died at age 3.

-The rapper Nelly’s sister died of Leukemia at age 31 in 2005

 

Success

          Going through all of these steps can be a tough road, but many people have travelled it and with success. One example of this is a young girl named Madelyn. She had her first immunization shots when she was 9 weeks old. Soon after her doctor found out that some of her white blood had been mutated and that she had developed a rare type of infant ALL. Madelyn received chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. Now Madelyn is a healthy nine year old girl in third grade. She has had no signs of cancer since.

 

          Leukemia is a crazy disease that many people have to deal with, whether it is their grandma, aunt, brother, or even themselves. Doctors have formed treatments to stop this deadly disease and are always improving them. While the death rate is progressively decreasing, our knowledge is increasing. These leaps are helping to save many lives including  our family and friends.




Works Cited

 

Abramovitz, Melissa Diseases and Disorders: Leukemia.

        San Diego: Lucent Books, 2003

 

Childhood Leukemia.” Medline Plus. 2011 US National Library of Medicine

20 April 2011 <http://www.nlm.nin.gov

 

“Famous People with Leukemia”. Famous People are Human. 2010

20 April 2011 <http://www.famouspeoplearehuman.com

 

“How to Recognize Signs of Leukemia”. eHow Health. 2011. Demand Media

22 April 2011 <http://www.ehow.com

 

“Leukemia” Compton’s By Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. web. 21 Apr. 2011

 

“Leukemia Survivors and Their Stories Bring Hope: Madelyn’s story” Leukemia Cure.com 29 April 2011

 

    http://www.leukemia-cure.com/leukemia-survivors.html



Mayo Clinic. Chemotherapy: Definition. 22 April 2011

<http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/chemotherapy/MY00536

 

Norris, June Handbook of Diseases

Springhouse, Pennsylvania: Springhouse Corporation, 1996

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1/28/11

 2nd + 3rd

 

The Brush of Bow 

 

     “It’s crazy down there Zeus! The Nauts broke out their tridents and charged Scorpia.” Poseidon was outlining the troubles of the oceans to his brother, the great Zeus .

      “The two armies of the sea have gotten into a huge fight over a mere dolphin!”

     When Poseidon had finished, Zeus’s face was so red it looked as though he was going to spit fire. He stormed out of the enormous thrown room on Mount Olympus and stomped down the hall. Poseidon, knowing Zeus, went back.                                                                                          

 

     Meanwhile, Hera, Zeus’s wife, intercepted Zeus in the hall right as he was about

to let out a loud bellow.

            “What is wrong with this world?” Zeus let out all of his anger in a roar while Hera tried to stop his flailing arms. Zeus was uncontrollable! Although he adored his beautiful wife, Zeus shoved Hera away and fled for the end of the hall in a furry, slamming his den door behind him. Hera hit the wall hard. As she lay on the floor, she looked out the window across the hall and saw a large storm brewing above the land below. Then it all went black.

           

              

 

There was a loud BANG and Hera woke instantly. She saw her beautiful daughter, Athena, walking towards her in full battle gear, shield and all.

            “Oh Mother! You look awful!” Athena exclaimed once she saw Hera’s poor condition.

            “Zeus…” Hera began, but could not finish.

            “ I heard of a raging war in the North Sea. I thought that I could help!” but she knew there was a much bigger problem at hand.

            When Hera was fully conscious again, Athena asked her many questions about the prior events. Hera told her of Zeus’s outbreak and immediately Athena thought of the storm she had witnessed outside. She leapt up from the floor and walked, unafraid into Zeus’s quarters.

             Athena found Zeus in a large armchair in the corner of the room. All of the lights were off.

            “Father, what is the meaning of this?”

            “Ummmg” Zeus grumbled.

            “Give me the key,” Athena shot back with no hesitation.

            After a long argument, Zeus finally cracked and pointed at the far wall where there was a cabinet.

            “Move it,” Zeus groaned. Athena moved the large chest with ease, opening up a cave in the wall. She came out two minutes later carrying a large, sparkling key.

            “There is evil in the sea, but you are the equivalent up here. In order to get rid of this plague, we need the real you!” The corners of Athena’s mouth were turned up. Zeus on the other hand looked extremely confused.

            “The Brush of Bow!” Athena shouted, “Who has it now?”

            It took Zeus a few minutes to respond, but Athena was wise and patient. “Oh, ummmmmm…Hermes,” said Zeus reluctantly.

            The Brush of Bow was passed among the gods every three years. It was used specifically for special occasions when it was truly needed. Athena knew this was the perfect time to use it.

            Athena rushed outside into the now raging storm with the sparkling key in hand. She was hoping that her brother would be on his landing pad on the back of Mount Olympus.

            Sure enough she found him sitting cross-legged on the large red “X” in the exact middle of the pad.

            I see you have finally come for the Brush of Bow,” Hermes said coolly, “ Do you have the key?”

            “Yes, and how did you know?” Athena stared her brother down.

            “ Just did,” Hermes said with a brother like shrug.

            Hermes gave Athena the brush, who then went back to her father’s den.

            When Athena found Zeus in the exact same spot that she had left him, she decided put even more feeling into her work.

            “You will take this brush and make a symbol of hope in the sky and will stop this raging storm,” Zeus did not know what to say to this so Athena went on, “ From now on, the only time that the Brush of Bow will be used is when there is a storm. You shall grab the brush and take to the sky. Paint an arch signifying hope in the world. No matter if there is war and hatred, there is always hope,”

 

            Athena made Zeus take the brush and paint the first ever rainbow over the sky. From then on, every time Zeus had an outbreak, Athena had to come to the rescue and remind him to pick up the brush. 

 

 

 

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1/13/11

3rd 

 

Snow Walker

By: Catherine Fisher

507 pages

 

            “The door was the last one in the corridor.  As the flames flickered over it, they showed that is was barred; a hefty iron chain hung across it, and the mud floor beneath was red with rust that had flaked off in the long years of locking and unlocking.”

 

            This is how the incredible saga of Snow Walker begins. This lone paragraph leads into to an epic story that takes place in a far off country where all fantasized characters are or were alive. Jessa Horolfsdaughter, a teenaged girl, takes on three challenges to protect the capital or Jarlshold.  She took these challenges head on with her mysterious friend Kari the Snow Walker. She endures sorcery, freezing temperatures, wild beasts, and lastly conflict between will and way. In three heart warming and chilling parts, Catherine Fisher pulls you into Jessa’s thoughts of fear and love. Read the epic novel Snow Walker to find out how Jessa’s journey ends.

             I believe this book would best fit the ages of ten and up, especially because of the length. It does get a little violent at times, but not enough to ruin the story! I truly enjoyed this book because of its action, adventure, and feeling. I also loved the ending, but you will have to read it to find that out!

 

 

 

Zoe

1/13/11

3rd 

 

Extra Credit: Snow Walker

Character Change

 

 

          If I could change places with any character in Snow Walker, I would trade with Jessa.  She has so much courage and is willing to do anything for her friends and their survival. At one spot in the book, Jessa is trapped in a cave with a wild sorceress beast blocking her in. She fights through the hunger and cold with all of her energy to get out. Meanwhile, she is thinking the whole time about her friends and getting to them. She is quick witted and uses it to her advantage. Her team of friends, which consists of a half-man half-giant, a poet, an ex-servant, a were-beast, and lastly a snow walker, travel with her through the snowy planes.  Jessa is looked up to as the brains of the operation and the one that always has a plan. Lastly, she has so much courage and forces herself to do things that a regular person would refuse to do, just for the well-being of her friends. Overall, I would like to have these attributes if I were ever in a life or death situation or, in fact, also for my everyday life.  

 

 

 

 

 

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Check out my PSA that I made woth Aubrey, Hannah, and Miranda! 

 

Fliqz has shut down their service. To access this video, email support with this video id: d027381bb2c34dbb9afbd7f7544809ad

 

 

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Science Fiction Story!

 11/18/10

 Speeding to Victory

By: Zoe Morse     3rd hour

 

     The dim lights reflected on a hunched figure in the far corner. Penny closed the large iron door behind her. The air reeked of ham sandwiches. There were small wads of paper all over the room, covering the tables, chairs, and the floor.

            “Uncle Leo?” Penny asked. There was a rustle and then the figure unfolded into a full-grown 6’ 7” man. He had a robotic arm and a very suspicious mechanical eye.

            “Who’s there?”  Uncle Leo rumbled in a low drawl.

            Penny walked over to the giant and said in a confident voice, “ I need a hyper speed accelerator.” Uncle Leo dipped his head to make out Penny’s face.

            “Oh, it’s you,” he said shaking the floor, “And no.”

            “Please, please, please?” Penny tried her hardest to get him to crack, and after many tries, she did.

 

       ¨                                                             ¨                                                         ¨

 

            The year was 2223 and the new thing was to have hyper speed races instead of just regular running races. At one specific school, this trend was blowing up like a balloon. This school was Spring Hill Junior High. It sat in the exact middle of the current 70 United States.

            Now in these races there was a start where everybody runs for 20 yards. This is normal, but then after those 20 yards you had to make a pit stop. Then your crew would pull a hyper speed accelerator onto your back, and initiate the starting sequence at the push of a button. Then

 

you were off, gaining the advantage as a result of teamwork…if you have it. There is some technique to this part, you need to have perfect timing between your arms, legs, and accelerator in order to make yourself go as fast as you possibly can. Of course, whoever is the first to the finish line wins.

            Penny Castano, a 13 year-old girl at Spring Hill, was one of the many teenagers to really take grasp of the idea of racing in a more modern way. She, of all of the kids at Spring Hill, had been the fastest at the school before the hyper speed accelerator idea had been introduced. In the old races, Penny would crush everybody, but now in the new races she would still beat everyone in the first 20 yards. After that it was agony. She would lose miserably in the second part, which was 100 yards, and by a lot. She could never figure out why though. Then one day in the Spring Hill Spartans 4th race, Penny not only crushed everyone in the first race, but also the second!

            “YAAAAAAA!” Penny cheered as she crossed the finish line. She pumped her fists above her heads, meanwhile, her smiles turned into mysterious smirks.

            “Wow Penny!” Kelsey, Penny’s best friend said. Penny ignored Kelsey and continued on a victory lap after taking off her accelerator.

            Later, when the team was in the locker room, everyone was congratulating Penny and the crew, which included Kelsey. Penny said, “Thanks to everyone, but really I owe my win to my Unc-“ everything went silent. “I mean my unifying crew members.” Kelsey stopped putting on her sweats and took a long look at Penny. Her face was red and she had a worried look on her face.

            After everyone had cleared out of the locker room, Kelsey grabbed Penny by the sweatshirt and pulled her back in the room.

            “When you said Unc-, what were you trying to say?” Penny didn’t answer.

            “Really, what did you mean?” Kelsey insisted.

            “You promise you won’t tell anyone?” Penny fired back.

            “I promise.”

            “Okay. I had my Uncle Leo, you know, the creepy one, make me my own hyper speed accelerator, so I didn’t have to use the stupid school ones. I swear, I think they are from 2010!” Penny said with feeling.

            “What?!” Kelsey said, “You know that is against the rules! The city sports director will take you out of the system so you won’t be able to play!”

            Penny hung her head, “I knew you would say this but it helps us win. The thing just does the running for me, I don’t have to time it,” she ranted.

            “You need to get rid of that thing, I don’t want to have that happen to you.”

            Penny slumped out of the room while Kelsey called after her, “You really should get rid of it!”

 

 

       ¨                                                             ¨                                                       ¨

 

 

Once again, Penny won the next meet with ease. Kelsey just sat at the pit station, going through the motions of her job. She hated Penny! But, she loved her like a sister at the same time. She got everything so easily, and she took it for granted. Although, Penny continued to win race after race, Kelsey never confronted her about the illegal hyper speed accelerator again. Then at the Spartan’s 9th season race, Kelsey observed the principal of Springhill watching Penny’s warm-up. She saw Mr. Pentroe dial his phone and begin talking.

            After Penny’s (once again) victory, Mr. Pentroe went up to Penny and talked to her. Then they went inside.

            Kelsey waited while every last person at the race left to go enjoy dinner. She waited while the janitors left to go home to see their families.

            Finally, after about 2 hours, Penny came out of the front doors sobbing.

            “Penny, what happened?” Kelsey said in a concerned tone.

            “M-m-mr. Pentroe told me I did something wrong and that I am banned for two races,” Penny was taking long sharp breathes between each sentence.  Kelsey had never seen her like this. Penny was the strongest willed person in the whole school, and although she could act stuck up at times, Kelsey still thought of Penny as a sister.

            It was silent except for Penny’s jagged breathing. Finally, Kelsey said, “Everything will be okay. There will still be four more races after that.”

            “But even when I come back I will have to use the silly little school accelerators!” Penny was getting very worked up about this so Kelsey had a suggestion.

            “How about this. Everyday for the two weeks that you are out, I will go to the track with you and practice your manual timing with the school accelerator. Penny seemed to turn this idea over in her head like a piece of gum in somebody’s mouth.

            “But what if-“ Penny began.

            “No buts, you are going to work as hard as you possibly can at this and it is your decision how well you want to do with the rest of your season.”

            Penny stared at Kelsey. Penny knew that Kelsey was right. She needed to get out of this funk and use it as an advantage.

            “I’ll do it,” Penny replied in a firm voice.

            “Okay. I will be ready with my stopwatch,” Kelsey said, jokingly. The girls shared a laugh and went their separate ways.

 

 

       ¨                                                             ¨                                                       ¨

 

 

Epilogue:

            The girls met everyday. They worked on Penny’s timing for hours at a time. Kelsey took her iPhone 70G and looked up drills. She printed them off on her palm printer and had Penny do them when she wasn’t with her. Because of all of this training, Penny regained her confidence and went on to win her league meet. Unfortunately, she was knocked out during the state semi-finals. She told a reliable source- cough –cough – her trainer – that she plans to come out stronger than before. She said that she will train hard from the start of next season. Who knows, she might even win…

 

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 Places!

 

Sal's Place: Pipestone National Monument

 

     Pipestone National Monument of Minnesota is a quarry for red pipestone. American Indians have  been quarrying here for many generations. They take the pipestone and carve pipes for prayers, like theone Sal gets in the story, Walk Two Moons! Because of this, the grounds are sacred to many people. Among the many amazing historical sights to see here, you can watch local Indians carve the pipes and demonstrate how to use them. If you want to see how they get the resources to make these prayer pipes, you can watch the quarriers picking away at the pipestone. To add on to these attractions, you can take a beautiful hike in the hills or stop for a picnic in the tall grasses of the plains. Over all, Pipestone National Monument is a beautiful blanket of nature and is worth the trip out to Minnesota!

 

 

 

 

www.travelpod.com

http://www.nps.gov/pipe/

 

 

My Place: San Francisco

      If I could go ANYWHERE in the USA, I would go to San Francisco, California.  I went to this amazing city when I was only 9! I feel so lucky to have had the chance to make the journey out there. There are many fun things to experience there, such as going to the piers and shopping....I recommend the Haagen Daz store! You can also take a car ride on the steepest road in the western hemisphere! It winds continuously in front of you as you prepare yourself to go back down......Among the other things to do is visit the University and see the seals flapping their flippers on the docks. If you are in the mood for some yummy food, go down to the piers and sit on the outdoor decks of the many yummy  restaurants. Although there are many, many other things to do in San Francisco, lastly, I would suggest the Golden Gate Bridge. You could either take the 1.7 mile drive across the bridge and look at the beautiful sparkling waters below. You could also sit down on the beach and enjoy the view of the bridge while having a bite to eat! After all of this typing, I think I deserve a trip to the beuatiful city of San Francisco......"MMMMOOOOOMMMMM?"

 

 

 

http://goldengatebridge.org

www.answerbag.com 

www.planetware.com/i/photo/golden-gate-bridge-san-francisco-casf922.jpg

 

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You will, of course, be graded on your wiki at several points this school year.  Your wiki will be graded on the following criteria:

  • that you make your page uniquely yours (25%)

    • this means that you change the font & colors, as well as add other features along the way
  • that you use your time well when we have computer time (25%)

    • this means that you don't talk too much and/or be distracted by your friends when you have time to work
    • this also means that you try your hardest and do your best
  • that you meet the requirements for each individual assignment (50%)

    • these requirements will be explained on each assignment's handout sheet

 

Here are some other things to keep in mind:      

  • part of the fun of wikis, and websites in general, is that you can create links to other websites
    • if you include something about Yellowstone National Park in your writing, you can create a link to it
      • find the web address for Yellowstone National Park and copy it (right click, Copy)
      • highlight the word you want to be the link (Yellowstone, for example)
      • on this page (in Edit mode), click on the globe above that says "Insert/Edit Link" if you scroll over it
      • under "Link type" choose URL
      • paste the Yellowstone address in the lower box and click OK
      • click on Save in the lower left corner and then see if it worked
  • here are a couple tips when changing the background color
    • for some reason, pbwiki's editing program doesn't seem to allow a whole page background change (if you figure it out, let me know).  So, you may have to fill in the section in which you want to change the color; you can do this by using the Tab key on your keyboard.  Tab through the area, then highlight it.  Then go up to the Background Color tab (above, left) and change the color to one you like
    • make sure you choose a color isn't too dark; the font color (black, for example) needs to be able to be read over your background color (brown background would make a black font hard to read).
  • here are a couple tips regarding font choice
    • please stay somewhat consistent with your font choice; it's easier to read than... if it changes too often
    • try to make the font size of titles a bit larger; you can use the Format area above and choose a Heading
  • keep your wiki page organized
    • feel free to add a page that's linked to your page if you want; it's a good idea to make a link back to your page
    • if you add photos, include brief captions about what's going on or who is in the photos or why the photo is on your wiki (no last names, please)
    • you can make folders on the Side Bar area; maybe a folder for each of your other three Core areas (Social Studies, Science, and Math) and/or a Hobbies Folder
  • please do not add plugins right away; we will get there at some point.

 

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Comments (5)

Aubrey said

at 9:29 am on Oct 6, 2010

I like you're paragraph!

CharlesS said

at 9:30 am on Oct 6, 2010

um what's up with the mooom?

CharlesS said

at 9:32 am on May 3, 2011

What Moom?
Who Said That!?

JinK said

at 6:47 pm on May 4, 2011

ur voki awsome.

AKabodian said

at 7:54 am on May 8, 2011

Excellent job on your research paper, Zoe!

You don't have permission to comment on this page.