I have just completed the first week of this course. It has started really well. At the moment there is a very lively debate going on online around a question posed as the closing item this week " Do people believe that there will be a cure for every cancer in due course" some interesting rather sci fi theorists out there with some off piste fanciful ideas, then of course there are the conspiracy theorists who think the drug and insurance companies will ensure that this never happens etc. Then there are the more rational answers along the lines that cures will be found for the most common cancers but better still they might not need to be found if screening and treatments eliminate any progression.
The first part of the course was a quick recap on basic genetics of cancer as covered in the Bath university course.
There was a really interesting section on pathology/histology which included types of biopsies, the different ways of processing these depending on circumstances, leading into the pathology report itself.
A bit on the statistics of cancer and factors that can contribute to cancer occurring.
In amongst the various study items there is a patient's story which will run over the full 6 weeks.
There are a number of items that require a little research to complete, this process was aided with a really good presentation on how to get the most from google or similar searches in the least time.
The penultimate section was a 5 question quiz to check your understanding of everything covered in the first week ... not too taxing and points scored go into the course assessment.
Fnal section was the live debate as mentioned at the start of this post.
The technology used is simple (must be I can use it) the course content is all availabe to download and refer back to as often as you need to and is well put together.
Next week we move into G mapping and inherited cancers amongst other things.
I will report back at the end of the 6 weeks if anyone is interested. The course is repeated at least once every year. I think Allister (Alathays) did this one last year.
Keeps my brain active and severely reduces my alcohol intake for 6 weeks !!
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend
best wishes
xx
Mo