User:Mirandalgreen/sandbox

Childhood Leukemia Article Resources

Here are links for the articles I am thinking of using to update the Childhood leukemia page. The bold text is the section I plan on updating with the articles.

General Information

<"Childhood leukemia is a type of leukemia, usually acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and a type of childhood cancer that affects white blood cells.The cure rate of childhood leukemia is generally higher than adult leukemia, approaching 90%, although side effects of treatment last into adulthood. ALL is most commonly seen in boys between the age of 3-5.Leukemia is a hematological malignancy or a cancer of the blood. It develops in the bone marrow, the soft inner part of bones where new blood cells are made. When a child has leukemia, the bone marrow produces white blood cells that do not mature correctly. Normal healthy cells only reproduce when there is enough space for them. The body will regulate the production of cells by sending signals of when to stop production. When a child has leukemia, the cells do not respond to the signals telling them when to stop and when to produce cells, regardless of the available space."

My addition:

that affects white blood cells

ALL is most commonly seen in boys between the age of 3-5

I also moved a sentence regarding old treatments down to the treatment section.

References: 6. https://www.stjude.org/disease/acute-lymphoblastic-leukemia-all.html

Causes

"The exact cause of most cases of childhood leukemia is not known. Most children with leukemia do not have any known risk factors. Research by Melvyn Greaves suggests childhood leukemia is caused by a two-step process, starting with a prenatal genetic mutation and then exposure to infections.His research concluded that childhood leukemia and other autoimmune disorders could be prevented by priming the gene mutation. This would need to occur within the first year of life in order to prevent the cancerous cells growing later in life. There also appears to be some evidence linking childhood leukemia to x-ray exposure. In a 2010 study by the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health, researchers found that children with acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) had almost twice the chance of having been exposed to three or more X-rays compared with children who did not have leukemia."

My addition:

His research concluded that childhood leukemia and other autoimmune disorders could be prevented by priming the gene mutation. This would need to occur within the first year of life in order to prevent the cancerous cells growing later in life.

References:

7. "Leading UK scientist reveals likely cause of childhood leukaemia." Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week, 9 June 2018, p. 2777. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com.ccclibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A541206541/AONE?u=clackamasccl&sid=AONE&xid=14cef043. Accessed 27 July 2018.

Treatment

"The treatment a child will undergo is based on the child's age, overall health, medical history, their tolerance for certain medications, procedures, and therapies, along with the parents' opinion and preference.[citation needed] The older aggressive treatments of cranial irradiation and anthracyclines (such as doxorubicin) caused increased risk of solid tumors, heart failure, growth retardation, and cognitive defects. Treatment today is broken down into three sections; Induction, Consolidation/Intensification and Maintenance. Induction is intended to kill the cancerous cells. Consolidation/Intensification is used to kill any remaining cells that have the potential to become cancerous. Maintenance is used to kill any cells that are still remaining. There are four specific types of treatments that are used within the sections above, those include Chemotherapy, Stem cell transplant, Radiation therapy and Targeted therapy.

• 
  Young girl receiving chemotherapy treatment

• Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses drugs to interfere with the cancer cells ability to grow and reproduce. Chemotherapy can be used alone or in combination with other therapies. Chemotherapy can be given either as a pill to swallow orally, an injection into the fat or muscle, through an IV directly into the bloodstream, or directly into the spinal column.[citation needed]
  

• A stem cell transplant is a process by which healthy cells are infused into the body. A stem-cell transplant can help the human body make enough healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets, and reduce the risk of life-threatening infections, anemia, and bleeding. It is also known as a bone-marrow transplant or an umbilical-cord blood transplant, depending on the source of the stem cells. Stem cell transplants can use the cells from the same person, called an autologous stem cell transplant or they can use stem cells from other people, known as an allogenic stem cell transplant. In some cases, the parents of a child with childhood leukemia may conceive a saviour sibling by preimplantation genetic diagnosis to be an appropriate match for the HLA antigen." Radiation therapy uses various types of radiation to get rid of the cancerous cells and prevent them from enlarging. Targeted therapy is the use of medication to specifically kill the cancerous cells. The medication is able to leave healthy normal cells alone while it targets the cancer.

My addition:

Moved this sentence from overview, I think it fits better under the treatment section- "The older aggressive treatments of cranial irradiation and anthracyclines (such as doxorubicin) caused increased risk of solid tumors, heart failure, growth retardation, and cognitive defects."

Treatment today is broken down into three sections; Induction, Consolidation/Intensification and Maintenance. Induction is intended to kill the cancerous cells. Consolidation/Intensification is used to kill any remaining cells that have the potential to become cancerous. Maintenance is used to kill any cells that are still remaining. There are four specific types of treatments that are used within the sections above, those include Chemotherapy, Stem cell transplant, Radiation therapy and Targeted therapy. Radiation therapy uses various types of radiation to get rid of the cancerous cells and prevent them from enlarging. Targeted therapy is the use of medication to specifically kill the cancerous cells. The medication is able to leave healthy normal cells alone while it targets the cancer.

References: 6. https://www.stjude.org/disease/acute-lymphoblastic-leukemia-all.html

After Effects

Neurological

Survivors of ALL are at risk for various neurocognitive and neuropsychological issues that effect their quality of life. These include issues with attention span, vision, processing speed, memory, growth failure, malnutrition, obesity, reduced fertility, psychiatric problems and early death. All of the latent effects listed impact patients and create a low quality of life. Lower quality of life is directly related to depression and other psychiatric problems.

Emotional

"Main article: Cancer survivor Childhood leukemia is a very taxing disease, on the caregiver and the child. The emotional distress and post traumatic stress which it causes is very deep; studies show that only 3% of parents have to deal with their child becoming severely ill. It is common to experience stress, depression, and anxiety throughout and after cancer treatment. Many people find it helpful to talk about their feelings with family and friends, health professionals, other patients, members of the clergy, and counselors or therapists. Being part of a support group can provide another outlet for people to share their feelings. Relaxation techniques, such as guided imagery and slow rhythmic breathing, can also help to ease negative thoughts or feelings. Reaching out to others, by participating in volunteer activities, can help people to feel stronger and more in control."

My addition: Added heading for emotional effects, and the whole section of neurological effects

References:

Kalafatçılar, Ayşe İpek, et al. "Assessment of Neuropsychological Late Effects in Survivors of Childhood Leukemia." Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, vol. 31, no. 2, Mar. 2014, pp. 181–193. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3109/08880018.2013.803212.

Kunin‐Batson, Alicia, et al. "The Contribution of Neurocognitive Functioning to Quality of Life After Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia." Psycho-Oncology, vol. 23, no. 6, June 2014, pp. 692–699. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/pon.3470.

References

Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you? The topic that I chose was from Big Think: https://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/can-neuroscience-backed-parent-coaching-break-the-cycle-of-poverty I wasn’t able to find an article specifically related to neuroscience and breaking the cycle of poverty. However, there were various articles on poverty. The “Cycle of poverty” was the closest article I found related to my topic of interest. The article has a lot of general information on the cycle of poverty- the causes, background, families affected, the culture and how it all effects the education a child receives. In the theories for how to break the cycle, it touches on the research shown in my article of interest “Can neuroscience-backed parent coaching break the cycle of poverty?”

Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?

It seems that the article is pretty objective and states a lot of facts and statistics. I did not feel that there was a particular bias. It could have added some statistics or information on children that are able to get out of the poverty and break the cycle on their own, without these interventions. After reading the talk page, I realize this would help counter the claims that it is a biased article. Here is a link to the Wikipedia article I chose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_poverty

Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?

There was a lot of information on the background of poverty and the cycle, but I would have liked to see more on how to break the cycle and also on the effects living in poverty has on the children. Each of these sections only had a paragraph or two.

Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?

All of the links took me somewhere, some of those links, however, were no longer available or took me to a page to buy the book they were referencing. I would say half of the links were legitimate sources that seemed unbiased.

Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?

No, not every source listed was a reliable or valid reference. Some of them I wasn’t able to view, such as a couple magazine articles that were listed. As I mentioned above, half of the references were appropriate and reliable. These also seemed to be unbiased. There are some sentences or facts that are not cited properly, some people have pointed this out, so hopefully, it can be updated. When checking the sources, it seems there are some that could be from a biased source, such as “Society for The Advancement of Education: "Modern Education's 'Cycle of Poverty'", USA Today Magazine Sep. 2006: Vol. 135 Issue 2736, pp. 6–7.” If the source is promoting advancement of education, whether I agree with them or not, they benefit from proving that education can break the cycle of poverty.

Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?

One piece of information I saw was from the 1960’s and 1990’s, which I would consider out of date. The rest of the information was from the 2002-2017 which I think citations from the 2000’s are still relevant. I would like to see more information from the last few years, and how/if some of these theories and strategies have worked or make a difference.

Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?

There seems to be many posts about blaming the individual for being in poverty and mentions of the “left winged” being responsible. I am not sure how either of these are helpful in breaking the cycle of poverty. There are also posts about it not having reliable sources, and others where people have checked the sources and received a green check from an editor on Wikipedia. Honestly, the talk page on this article reminded me of scrolling upon a political post on facebook. I was surprised to see the comments on Wikipedia. All of the additions to the talk page are from the early 2000’s.

How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?

This article is apart of the Economics Wikiproject. It is rated Start-Class and Mild-Importance.

How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class or the way you've seen it talked about in other spaces?

The article itself represents the topic in a classic way, it lays out general information and has quite a few sections on the different aspects of poverty and how it affects people. The talk page however, was not like any talk I have seen in class or on other educational spaces. It was more trash talking than constructive opinions or feedback.