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Yvette's Brave Battle

By Tonya Laakko Train

Yvette's Brave Battle


 

Abstract

This case is based on the true story of a woman with choriocarcinoma, a rare type of rapidly dividing and metastatic cancer derived from cells of the placenta. The case begins with Yvette being admitted to a hospital due to neurological irregularities. Blood tests indicate that she is pregnant, but an ultrasound shows that she is not. Ultimately she learns that she has cancer that has metastasized to her liver, lungs, and brain. Since the cancer cells are derived from placental cells, they produce human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG), the hormone detected in traditional pregnancy tests. The case follows Yvette through chemotherapeutic and radiation treatments. Students learn about tumor formation and metastases as well as cancer treatment and the side-effects of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Originally designed for use in undergraduate biology, biochemistry, or pre-health courses to teach students about cancer cell biology, this case could also be used to introduce more advanced topics on cell cycle or endocrinology in upper-level courses with junior and senior science or pre-health students.

   

Date Posted

11/04/2013

Overview

Objectives

  • Identify relevant observations and use those observations to devise hypotheses.
  • Generate questions to gather more data towards devising a reasonable hypothesis and incorporate new information to revise hypotheses.
  • Compare and contrast cancer cells from their normal precursor cell types.
  • Comprehend the process of metastasis, the basic mechanism of traditional chemotherapeutics and radiation treatment.
  • Relate the mechanism of traditional chemotherapeutics to common side-effects of the drugs.
  • Compare and contrast radiation to chemotherapy.
  • Use risk benefit analysis to choose the appropriate treatment.
  • Discriminate between remission and cure.
  • Devise potential techniques for monitoring the presence of choriocarcinoma by applying information provided in the case.
  • Devise a rationale to explain why cancer cells can become resistant to treatment over time.

Keywords

Cancer; chemotherapy; radiation therapy; molar pregnancy; choriocarcinoma; cell biology; endocrinology; metastasis; human chorionic gonadotropin

  

Subject Headings

Analytical Chemistry
Biochemistry
Biology (General)
Cell Biology
Medicinal Chemistry
Medicine (General)
Molecular Biology
Neuroscience

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division

  

FORMAT

PDF

   

TOPICAL AREAS

Scientific method

   

LANGUAGE

English

   

TYPE/METHODS

Directed, Discussion, Interrupted

 

 

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