Introduction+-+Dear+Reader

Dear Reader,
====Last year, I lost my grandfather to lung cancer. We were very close and I was not prepared to see him leave. His loss had, however, given me the inspiration to ask new questions concerning cancer. I constantly wondered, "Could I get cancer? What causes a tumor to grow? Are there any ways to prevent cancer?" I was happy to hear I would get the chance to research cancer in my project because it gave me the opportunity to find answers to these questions and achieve what the loss of my grandfather had inspired me to do. Because the topic is directly related to my family, I wanted to research subjects that I could share with them. Not only was I interested in the physical changes that happen during cancer, but also the mental changes. For example, I have discovered that everyone has cancer cells in their body, but only some people will actually develop cancer. I also learned that cancer is a well known disease that, with good support, can make someone stronger in the long run. Cancer can either make someone or break someone in a physical or mental manner. A person has to choose their side of the battle by either fighting cancer or giving in to the struggles and pain that come along with it. ====

====Before I began the process of researching, I made goals of what kinds of information I wanted to learn. My goals were to find out what one could do to prevent cancer, what happens inside of a person who has cancer, and what it is like after having chemo therapy. I met and addressed each of these goals, as you will see, in different sections of the project. Every time I learned a new fact, I had a feeling of excitement and delight. It led to my enthusiasm to continue researching, and made me eager to display this information to you, my reader. This type of project allowed me to receive a better understanding of my topic than a traditional research paper because it required me to look into at least five different subtopics related to cancer. With a traditional paper, I would have only focused on what cancer is rather than adding the effects of chemo therapy, prevention strategies, or emotional effects. I was able to spread my knowledge of the topic to the point that I could answer questions about it and have a deeper comprehension of the overall influences of cancer. ====

====This project helped me learn new ways to conduct research, as well as confirmed some areas of research that I already knew. I learned that a website is the best place to find a large portions of information because it can have multiple links and pages on one topic. Also, I learned that a book is a good place to conduct research from because it usually has a table of contents with different subtopics, and it could have precise facts as well as narrative pieces. This project confirmed to me that recording sources is a mandatory process when completing a research project because it reduces the chances of plagiarism, and gives credit to the people who originally found the information. ====

====Another element of this project that I enjoyed incorporating into my genres was the unifying element, or repetend. Having cancer as my topic made me consider a variety of possible repetends for my project. At first I was leaning towards doing a ribbon for cancer support. However, after a long contemplation I decided that a quote would be the most effective element to add to the reader's understanding and appreciation for the topic. There were a few quotes that I was considering, but I felt that the most powerful would be //"Beginnings are always messy."// by John Galsworth. This represents multiple deeper meanings behind points in my genres. For example, one may not realize, but each type of cancer is named after the area in the body that it began in. This quote also represents that when a person first discovers that they have cancer it may seem that their life is over, when really it is just the beginning. After all of their difficult treatments and side effects, it will get better in the end. ====

====I enjoyed creating this project much more than I expected to. In fact, I found myself delighted and eager to work on it each night. When I first heard the words "research project" I thought the next few weeks would be awful. Beginning to prepare for weeks full of boredom was the contrary of what I should have been doing. It was not until I got deeper into the project that I realized how fortunate I was to have the opportunity to be enlightened by the facts and stories of cancer and cancer survivors. I am still pleased with my decision to choose cancer as my topic and would not change anything. This project took time and attention that I was more than happy to give. When you read this, remember, cancer is not the end, it is just a messy beginning to significant realizations and remarkable experiences. ====

Zoey Gifford
