Write a research paper on a specific type of cancer occurring in either the digestive system or endocrine system.
Your assessment involves researching a cancer that affects the digestive or the endocrine system and learning how the disease affects the body as it progresses or spreads. You will also examine the therapies available for treatment of this specific type of cancer, and lifestyle choices, such as changes to diet and nutrition, that might aid in prevention or treatment of this type of cancer.
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By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
Competency 1: Describe the organization of the human body at increasingly complex levels.
Describe cancer in biological terms at the levels of the cell.
Describe the steps in the progress of a specific type of cancer.
Competency 2: Explain homeostasis as it relates to human biology.
Explain how cancer disrupts homeostasis.
Competency 5: Evaluate the objectivity and legitimacy of biology information found in articles and online.
Identify a high-quality and appropriate scientific information source on a biological topic.
Competency 6: Apply biological concepts to factors related to human health.
Discuss the therapies available for treatment of a specific type of cancer.
Discuss the lifestyle choices that might aid in prevention or treatment of a specific type of cancer.
Competency 7: Communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
Write coherently to support a central idea in appropriate format with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics, including correct APA format and citations.
Competency Map
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Use this online tool to track your performance and progress through your course.
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Context
The Digestive System
What we eat has a major effect on the health and functioning of our bodies. Food provides not only a source of energy but nutrients needed for hormones, enzymes, tissue repair, cardiovascular health, nerve impulses, and the functioning of cells throughout the body.
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The processing of food involves many organs and glands. Ingestion is the taking in of food. The mechanical digestion of food begins in the mouth. The chemical digestion also starts in the mouth, as the salivary glands release enzymes that begin the digestion of starch. Once the food is broken down the absorption of nutrients occurs, followed by the elimination of waste products.
The Endocrine System
The body contains trillions of cells that operate in coordination with one another. To maintain the necessary coordination, there is a control system involving the brain, chemical receptors and detectors, and various organs, collectively called the endocrine system. Glands of the endocrine system produce and release hormones that react with receptors on the various cells of the body. A hormone, bound to its receptor on a cell, causes that cell to alter its chemistry. The endocrine system, although complex in the variety of organs and hormones involved, operates on common principles.
The endocrine system is complex because there are a lot of hormones and glands in the system, and many hormonal effects associated with it. While you may not master the names of all of the hormones, glands, and effects, examples of the principles related to hormones should provide you with an understanding of those principles. An overriding principle is that hormones are the major vehicle our body uses to maintain its homeostasis.
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Questions to Consider
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.
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Diets
For the following questions, you are encouraged to refer to the “Diet and Nutrition 101” articles from Everyday Health Media, listed in the Resources.
What are three pros and three cons of popular diets?
What are the health benefits of the diets, in light of what you have learned about nutrition?
Are the diets biologically sound?
How could a popular diet trend hook or lure the consumer to believe that the diet is the best option? Do you know anyone who has been easily drawn in by a diet trend?
What kind of diet recommendations would you make for a friend who is trying to diet?
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)
For the following questions, you are encouraged to refer to the World Health Organization article, “Effects of Human Exposure To Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals Examined In Landmark UN Report,” and the Golden article, “Studies: Endocrine Disruptors, Cocaine Common in Minnesota Waters,” listed in the Resources.
What endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are of particular interest to you? Why?
What products contain this EDC?
How would the EDC affect normal hormone functions in the human body?
What are the possible health implications of regular exposure to this chemical?
Has this chemical been adequately tested? If not, should this potentially harmful chemical stay on the market while researchers study its safety?
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Resources
Suggested Resources
The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.
Capella Resources
Click the links provided below to view the following multimedia pieces:
Evaluating Source Quality.
Source Evaluation Form: Web Sites.
Source Evaluation Form: Journals and Books.
Digestion | Transcript.
This presentation on the human digestive system focuses on the gut, mouth, pharynx, esophagus, epiglottis, small intestine, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, and large intestine.
Cell Structure and Function | Transcript.
This presentation examines different types of cells and how the body works at a cellular level.
Body System | Transcript.
This presentation looks at various systems and functions that will be addressed in this course. Review the endocrine system.
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Library Resources
The following e-books or articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course:
Silverstein, A., Silverstein, V. B., & Silverstein, R. A. (1994). The digestive system. New York, NY: Twenty-First Century Books.
Brooks, A. (2007). Systems of our body. Delhi, IND: Global Media.
“Digestive System.”
“Endocrine System.”
Rogers, K. M. A., Scott, W. N, Warner, S., & Willis, B. (2011). Paramedics! Test yourself in anatomy and physiology. Maidenhead, GBR: Open University Press.
Chapter 6, “The Endocrine System.”
Chapter 9, “The Digestive System.”
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. (2002). Lippincott professional guides: Anatomy & physiology (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Author.
Chapter 6, “Endocrine System.”
Chapter 11, “Gastrointestinal System.”
Chapter 12, “Nutrition and Metabolism.”
Van De Graaff, K. M., & Rhees R. W. (2001). Human anatomy and physiology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Pages 139140 and 142146 in Chapter 19, “Digestive System.”
Chapter 13, “Endocrine System.”
Course Library Guide
A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the BIO-FP1000 Human Biology Library Guide to help direct your research.
Internet Resources
Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.
Golden, K. (2013, May 13). Studies: Endocrine disruptors, cocaine common in Minnesota waters. Retrieved from WisconsinWatch.org Web site: http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2013/05/13/studies-endocrine-disruptors-common-in-mn-waters/
Howtomedia, Inc. (2013). Digestive system anatomy. Retrieved from InnerBody.com Web site: http://www.innerbody.com/image/digeov.html#full-description
Howtomedia, Inc. (2013). Anatomy of the endocrine system. Retrieved from InnerBody.com Web site: http://www.innerbody.com/image/endoov.html#full-description
World Health Organization. (2013, February 19). Effects of human exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals examined in landmark UN report. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/hormone_disrupting_20130219/en/
Everyday Health Media, LLC. (2014). Diet and nutrition 101. Retrieved from http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/101.aspx
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.gov/
Bookstore Resources
The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. These resources are available on your VitalSource Bookshelf.
Ireland, K. A. (2018). Visualizing human biology (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Chapter 12, “Cancer.” This chapter will help you explore how cancer cells differ from healthy cells, as well as lifestyle choices that can help protect the body from cancer.
Chapter 15, “Nutrition: You Are What You Eat.” In this chapter, you will look at how the digestive system breaks molecules down into usable units of energy.
Chapter 16, “Digestive System.” In this chapter, you will explore the gastrointestinal (GI) tract to understand the process of digestion from ingestion to absorption. Use your knowledge of diffusion, osmosis, and active transport to understand how nutrient molecules enter the bloodstream to support homeostasis.
Chapter 18, “The Endocrine System.” While reading this chapter, use what you have already learned about cell structure and brain function to understand how hormones control many body functions and influence behavior. Explore specific examples of how feedback loops regulate body function to maintain homeostasis.
Asssessment Instructions
Fundamentally, cancer is a failure of the immune system. Cancer kills because it spreads and disturbs homeostasis. For this assessment, select, research, and then describe a specific type of cancer occurring in either the digestive system or endocrine system. Note: If you choose the digestive system, you may discuss a cancer of the primary digestive system or that of an accessory organ. To select the specific type of cancer you wish to research for this assessment, you are encouraged to refer to the materials linked in the Resources.
In order to complete this assessment, you will need to find high-quality, appropriate, and credible research resources on a specific type of cancer. Resources in the Capella library are recommended because they have been selected for quality and credibility, and are peer-reviewed. If you conduct Internet research outside the library, your resources must be reliable. The “Top 100 List: Health Websites You Can Trust” article, linked in the Resources under the Internet Resources heading, will be of particular help in selecting appropriate sources.
Assessment points will be deducted for citing unreliable sources such as Wikipedia, or other sites based on user-generated content. These sites are not peer-reviewed, and, in the case of Wikipedia, anyone can add an entry or change an entry. Hence, these types of sources should not be cited in college-level research papers. However, you may find Wikipedia useful as a starting point for your Internet research, as Wikipedia entries may provide links to other resources that are reputable and reliable.
Based on your research, write a paper that addresses all of the following:
Identify the type of cancer of the endocrine or digestive system that you have researched. Which cancer did you choose, and what part of the body does that cancer affect?
What are the biological changes that occur at the level of the cell that result in this type of cancer? What are the biological changes that occur at the level of the major organ as this cancer progresses?
What characteristics of cancer cells distinguish them from normal cells?
Consider how the disease affects the body as it progresses or spreads. What are some specific aspects of homeostasis that the spreading disease could affect? What self-regulating systems are upset because of this disease?
Which therapies are available for treatment for this specific type of cancer? How do these therapies work biologically to treat this type of cancer?
What are some lifestyle choices that might aid in prevention or treatment of this type of cancer? How do you incorporate these lifestyle choices in your daily life?
How are the biological changes of this cancer, at the level of the cell and organ, similar to and different from changes in other types of cancer?
Formatting Requirements
Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: References and citations should be formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.
