The Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In 1953, the life expectancy of a child diagnosed with leukemia was three months. By 1954, the
anticancer drug 6-MP—that had just been developed by
Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings—was
undergoing tests by Dr. Joseph Burchenal. Nine-year-old Debbie Brown was among the first
patients to be given the drug by Dr. Burchenal at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital.
As a result, she became one of the first long-term survivors of childhood leukemia. Today she is
a mother and a teacher living in New Jersey.
"Cancer...There Is Hope."
This astounding leap from a three-month life expectancy to an 80% cure rate for childhood
leukemia illustrates the gains made in treating cancer over the past 50 years. As dramatic as
Debbie Brown's story is, there are hundreds more like it. Some of these amazing stories are
about patients and some are about the scientists and physicians who have brought about these
changes in cancer treatment. In this module you will read several such stories of discovery,
stories about scientists or physicians who—like Hitchings and Elion—found a drug that could be
used to save the lives of cancer patients. There is also a reading that will
give you a general overview of cancer treatment methods.
Columns of the Bloch
Cancer Surviviors Plaza.
Two lab activities illustrate important means that scientists have used to develop cancer drugs
for the patients who so need them. In the lab Separating Cherry
Cola, you will perform a simple mixture separation. The process parallels the types of
separations chemists must perform to isolate possible drugs from their natural sources. The
second lab, Designer Molecules: Esterification, illustrates
how chemists can produce compounds that have specifically designed properties, substances that
can act as "magic bullets" against diseases like cancer.
In Taxol® and Yew: A WebQuest Senate Debate, you and your
class will examine some of the different points of view concerning the use of natural products
or resources to make medicines. You will also have a chance to go on a scavenger hunt, cyberspace style, to test your Internet skills.
