Skin Cancer Unit

     In this unit, we were able to learn a lot about cancer of the skin but also test factors of our choice which added a really cool hands on element to the unit.  At the start of this unit we were able to use UVB probes, which for many of us were a very new and awe inspiring technology.  With these probes, we got to test anything we wanted to relating to UVB reception with different variables.  In our group, we chose to test different tee shirt colors for the level of UVB it allowed through the shirt.  This was a very interesting experiment and something I had never really thought about before this experiment.  Seeing our own, and every one else's experiments was really eye opening to how many factors actually go into how much UVB we are exposed to when in direct or indirect sunlight.  In addition to the experiment, we watched a movie (Living Proof) this unit that really gave us an inside look at what research for a new drug is like, in this case a drug to try and stop the growth of cancer cells.  It was really cool to see this in action but also cool to watch the movie after already having some knowledge about the topic which we learned in class prior to watching the movie.  We could then apply what we knew to what was happening in the movie with the doctors research and the patients conditions.   This unit overall was a great mix of hands on learning and informative learning to keep us aware of how skin cancer works.