Fertility Education Needs and Disparities in Female Breast Cancer Patients

Purpose: To understand the perceptions that female breast cancer patients have related to their fertility and menopause education, as well as correlations between socio-economic factors and satisfaction of education. Background: Although common perceptions are that pregnancy in a woman who has had breast cancer increases the risk of cancer recurrence, research has shown just the opposite; that there is no increased risk to the mother or fetus in a pregnancy after breast cancer diagnosis and treatment (Fossa, et al, 2005). Even after cancer treatment, up to 60% of patients are interested in having children, even if the patient has a shortened lifespan (Schover, 2005). With cancer treatment, however, a woman may go through early onset menopause and have limited options regarding fertility after treatment. Studies have also shown that breast cancer patients don’t feel well informed about the fertility changes they may face as a result of their treatment or about options to preserve or extend their fertility (Duffy, Allen & Clark, 2005; Thewes, et al., 2003). Subjects: Female breast cancer patients ages 18 to 55 years old who are not currently pregnant and were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past ten years. Methods: Subjects are recruited via the patient database from the Susan G. Komen Foundation of Columbus as well as word of mouth and survey notices on other breast cancer support sites, such as the Young Breast Cancer Survivor Coalition. The survey is located on the internet at the Complementary Alternatives for Breast Cancer Survivors website and the questions are part of a larger study being done by faculty at the College of Nursing. Questions are related to; demographics, satisfaction with education received, and a brief quiz to test the participants’ knowledge in issues related to fertility and menopause. Descriptive statistics will be compiled to describe the sample population. Results: 16 women between the ages of 33 and 53 completed the survey. Half of our participants had children at the time of the survey and all of these children were born before their breast cancer treatment. Breast cancer diagnosis occurred before age 40 in 63% of the women.None of the women surveyed were asked to meet with a fertility specialist at any time throughout their treatment. 25% of the women received their fertility and menopause education information from a non-professional source, such as the internet or support groups. A significant percentage of the women reported dissatisfaction with the fertility and menopause education they received after their diagnosis.The research found a positive correlation between women who said they would have like to receive more information and those women who had to ask for more information (Pearson r = .572, p = .02). For those people who had a strong desire to have children, they desired significantly more information relating to fertility and menopause (T= -2.93, df = 10, p = .015). There was a positive correlation with overall satisfaction in education received and how well informed the women felt (Pearson’s r = .728, p < .001). There was a positive correlation between total quiz score and education attainment. The average quiz score for those women with a high school education or less was 2.8 ± .73 out of 6. The average quiz score for those women with more than a high school education was 3.36 ±.54 out of 6.No embarg

Misconceptions in Agriculture: The Role of Public Relations to Communicate with and Educate the Public

The following study aims to investigate the misconceptions in agricultural communications, why they exist, and what communicators can be doing to further the development, management and assessment of agricultural communication messaging. Agricultural issues are a source of media attention, from policy changes like Proposition 2 or Proposition 37 in California, to commercials such as the Dodge RAM Super Bowl spot in 2013. By studying what professionals are currently doing in the fields of public relations, marketing, and agricultural communications to reach and educate the consumers, it becomes clear the strategies that should be taken when presenting key messaging. This study focuses on uncovering these strategies, and ends with recommendations for practice for experts in the field to build on: use emotion to your advantage, engage in two-way dialogue, and develop an integrated message across platforms

Powered by Social Energies: A New Historicism Approach to Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind was a runaway bestseller in the 1930s due to Mitchell\u27s ability to pull the circulating social energies of her own time period into a book ostensibly set in the Civil War and Reconstruction Period. Using Stephen Greenblatt\u27s ideas from Shakespearean Negotiations, I trace these in Gone with the Wind with support from multiple sources. These swirling social energies provide a sense of inevitability to the story which underpins Scarlett\u27s frantic survivalism, but they are not transformed. This lack of transformation creates a disturbing reality wherein Scarlett can learn nothing, change nothing and rail against her apparent victimizations, which parallels the situation we as modern readers face in an increasingly complicated and divisive world

Alternative Options for Resolution of Property and Casualty Claims Arising out of Natural Disasters

At the time of this Article, at least twelve large wildfires are burn- ing in California across more than 1,000 square miles, having damaged or destroyed over 2,000 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). At least eight people have lost their lives. The Kilauea volcano continues to erupt in Hawaii, having destroyed 600 homes. The 2018 hurricane season is in full swing, and while there have been no catastrophic events to date, residents in Houston, Florida, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere are still recovering from the devastating winds and rains wrought by Har- vey, Maria, and Irma last year. Those hurricanes are estimated to have caused more than $200 billion in damages, making the 2017 hurricane season the costliest in U.S. history. Around the world, natural disasters such as deadly heat waves, flooding, mudslides, hurricanes, and tornadoes will cause untold losses as temperatures across the globe are rising. After the smoke clears, the ash settles, the waters subside, and initial recovery efforts restore basic functions like the delivery of food, water, and electricity, survivors face the task of rebuilding. Inevitably, property and business owners either look to their insurance carriers for relief or initiate tort actions against alleged wrongdoers. In 2007, more than 2,000 law suits were filed against San Diego Gas & Electric following a series of wildfires that engulfed San Diego County in California, where faulty power lines were blamed for some of the fires. Dozens of cases have been filed in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in California relating to the deadly Thomas Fire and related devastating mudslides that killed twenty people and destroyed hundreds of homes late last year. Traditional litigation used to resolve these disputes has the potential to overwhelm the courts, consume limited resources of insurance carriers and others, and be unduly burdensome to survivors. Alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) mechanisms such as mediation can offer significant relief to the parties, permitting them to negotiate a resolution in a less formal setting than the courthouse, and usually within a shorter time frame than typical litigation would require. In situations where a mass disaster does not easily lend itself to individual mediations, however, providers can customize the process to ensure that all parties—those parties that have suffered losses, insurance carriers, and potentially responsible parties—experience a fair, economic, and efficient resolution. National ADR providers such as JAMS and the American Arbitration Association offer comprehensive, customized processes that can be tailored to meet the needs of the parties and the unique requirements of each case. Individual mediators around the country routinely provide assistance with ADR process design for complex, multi-party matters. Some examples follow

Constitutional Law - First Amendment - Free Exercise of Religion

The United States Supreme Court held that when a law that is neither neutral nor generally applicable burdens religious practices that law must be justified by a compelling state interest. Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 113 S. Ct. 2217 (1993)

Optimal Conditions to Support School Climate and Increase Teacher Retention in Middle School Classrooms

This study addressed the increasing attrition and migration of teachers from middle school classrooms. The study also sought to determine to what extent specific research-based factors motivated teachers to remain in the middle school classroom. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used in this study. The first portion of the study included quantitative and qualitative data collection through the administration of an online survey instrument. Survey data results were utilized to create and modify questions used to gather additional qualitative data during the administration of two focus groups. This study found a positive school climate, administrative support, and collegiality to be essential factors to increase teacher retention in middle school classrooms. Additional factors motivating teachers to remain in middle school classrooms gathered from qualitative data were the ability to have a positive impact on student lives and receiving professional development to address the unique needs of individual teachers. The study noted the impact administrative support, collegiality, and family/community support had on the creation of a positive school climate as well as the effect these factors have on a teacher’s ability to positively impact student lives. The study also noted the need for professional development designed to address the needs of individual teachers. Recommendations to increase teacher retention in middle school classrooms are provided along with the study’s implications for future research