Prostate Cancer

What is prostate cancer?

The prostate is a gland found in male bodies that surrounds the urethra and is crucial in the development of semen. Prostate cancer is a disease predominantly affecting middle-aged and older men, where cells in the prostate gland multiply rapidly and form a tumor. The disease affects about 1 in 7 men [2].

Prostate cancer can develop at an early stage without pain, but can become fatal in later stages. Hence, early detection is essential for men.

The Genetics

Aside from environmental factors, the form and function of our entire body is encoded in our DNA. This is a molecule contained in all of our cells, and the code, split into genes, is formed by sequences of 4 letters: A, C, T, and G. Although there are billions of these letters throughout our DNA, even a small change—or mutation—can drastically damage the human body.

Research has shown that some of these miniscule mutations, particularly in any of 5 specific genes, are strongly linked to prostate cancer development. There is also another gene, called BRCA1, that helps code for proteins that suppress tumor growth. This gene corrects mistakes that are made when duplicating our DNA, so that (in theory) our genes stay the same over time. Put more simply, BRCA1 works to prevent mutations—which may cause tumor growth—from occurring.

Why get tested?

With this information alone, any man would consider getting a genetic test for prostate cancer, and for good reason. Even having 2 of the 5 aforementioned mutations could double your odds of developing the disease [1]! And inherited mutations (those which are often passed down from family members) in BRCA1 and similar genes monumentally increases cancer risk [2]. Knowing your odds is key to detecting prostate cancer early (when it is low-risk), treating it before the tumor grows out of control, and ultimately beating the disease.

If you’re looking for a genetic test, try out the SNP-chip, which can detect such single-letter mutations across different genes for around $300. But you may want to consider the alternatives first.

Alternatives

There are many ethical issues of genetic tests. Depending on how much of your DNA you want sequenced, the results can tell you about untreatable and uncurable diseases. Also, many companies will sell data and infringe on your privacy, so it is crucial to use a reputable service.

Additionally, the genetic test may not even be accurate. In fact, most cases of the cancer are somatic mutations, types that occur throughout a person’s lifetime and are hence not inherited. In this case, a genetic test can give a false sense of security. Even family history may only account for around 50% of cases of the disease [2].

As an alternative, there are more precise tests and screenings that can detect prostate cancer at an early stage. The two most common are rectal exams and PSA tests (a specific blood test), which have proven to be accurate and recommended by doctors [3].

Personal Considerations

Family history alone can have the same effect in increasing your odds as a single one of the above mutations. In these cases, it may be advantageous to get a genetic test at a young age, before the disease even starts to develop.

However, there is little danger in waiting until your late 30s or early 40s, when prostate cancer could be at an early stage of development to get tested. In this case, more-accurate rectal exams and PSA screenings are recommended, especially for those with family history.

It should be noted that there are potential side-effects to treating (or overtreating) prostate cancer, such as erectile dysfunction and infections [4]. In some cases, the disease can be nonfatal and unharmful. However, since prostate cancer can likely become fatal if not treated early, the choice of whether to take action against it is clear. It is never too early to talk to your doctor about your risks!

Sources

[1] Zheng SL, Gelmann EP, Kearon C, Kapur J, Center for Human Genomics. Cumulative Association of Five Genetic Variants with Prostate Cancer: NEJM. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa075819. Published February 28, 2008.

[2] Prostate cancer – Genetics Home Reference – NIH. U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/prostate-cancer. Accessed December 3, 2019.

[3] Prostate cancer prevention and early detection. Prostate cancer prevention and early detection | Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. https://www.seattlecca.org/diseases/prostate-cancer/early-detection-prevention. Accessed December 3, 2019.

[4] What Are The Side Effects Of Prostate Cancer Treatment? Prostate Cancer Foundation. https://www.pcf.org/about-prostate-cancer/prostate-cancer-side-effects/. Accessed December 3, 2019.

Rivers Alive Reflection

For my outreach project, I worked with the Rivers Alive watershed cleanup group at the MLK Greenway site. We spent the morning cleaning up trash on the side of the river.

By noon, we had around 20 full trash bags, and there was not any trash in path of the trail afterwards. This gave me hope in outreach projects like this, and the idea that we can reverse the damage we have done to the environment. Additionally, the fact that there were enthusiastic families participating together gave a sense of community and an inspiration to do similar projects with my family in the future.

I was most surprised when the volunteer who led our group told us about how most of the trash built up. Erosion from the soil on the sides has caused the bottom of even shallow parts of the river to become obscured, and so the government encouraged people to lay trash along the banks to prevent further erosion. This did not truly help the issue (the water is still opaque), and it clearly added the issue of trash buildup and environmental degradation.

Below are pictures I took of the trash from our materialistic culture against the background of what should be pure nature. This juxtaposition highlights the uncomfortable aspect that littering introduces to the environment.

Climate Simulation – Eric Miller

During the climate simulation, I was in the group of “other developed countries”. I was surprised to see that the majority of populations in these countries wanted to see government actions to help counteract climate change, as this is much more controversial in the US. This brightens my hopes about saving/improving the environment, as I now realize that there are other countries out there that are likely to make large contributions, even in the unfortunate possibility that the US does not start to take action.

I put myself in the shoes of government officials of developed countries in order to determine the first decision. As our populations believed in climate change, our group decided to focus a large amount of efforts on internal afforestation and preventing deforestation. However, we only contributed a base-level amount of money: $1 billion. As we started to see other countries pick up the pace of donations (especially in the EU), we started to realize that our coalition of nations could realistically afford to contribute at least $50 billion. This was further catalyzed by some of the “needier” countries, like India, who requested a monumental sum of money, but also had solid plans on how to spend it.

Even with the large contributions that were made in the second round, I felt somewhat disheartened by the fact that the simulation still showed above a 2-degree increase in the global temperature. However, I do have hope that in the real world, even though countries won’t change their minds as quickly as we did in class, the few initial contributions will have a large enough domino effect in order to get other countries to step forward (and end up reducing emissions enough to meet the goal of less than a 2 degree increase).

One of the largest barriers to this negotiation was the complex political relationships between nations. Many nations, in reality, would be hesitant to contribute money in fear that the receiving country would not use the funds for the intended purpose (other purposes, in the worst cases, could include weapon development). Additionally, even if these nations did make such an agreement, it would further promote a hierarchy where underdeveloped nations are forced to depend on the wealth and authority of the more-developed (which is one of the problems that got us here in the first place with colonialism).

My hope is that, along with increasing rallies of the US population to combat climate change, the internal pressure along with the pressure of other nations will eventually cause the United States to begin active contributions to stopping climate change. One of the major problems here is that climate change has turned into such a political issue. More people from all sides of the political spectrum should stand up for these issues rather than blindly following their parties’ platforms. This will take many different efforts, including improved education about climate change and well-formed budgeting proposals. If this is successful, as the US is one of the largest voices (and wealthiest nations) on the world stage, other nations will follow suit, and we will see dramatic changes.

Eric Miller Watershed Image

I took this picture at the area where Lilly Branch comes out from underground to daylight near Joe Frank Harris. The main thing that struck me with this picture was the amount of erosion along the bank. The fact that Lilly Branch has been kept out of sight in most areas kept me from knowing it existed for the past year at UGA, even though it is easily visible on my morning walk to class, as I first noticed the next day. The sheer notion astonishes me that the water from our community, that has been hidden from mine and others’ sight for so long, has also made such an impact on the environment over the years to create the erosion we see in the image.

This image prompted me to have more awareness and start to take action in the community. The fact that our campus was built over the stream makes me realize that our community has a lack of awareness, and even care, about where our water goes, and more importantly, where our pollutants end up. Thus, I am excited to learn more about the specifics of such pollution in Athens and make a difference through our semester projects.

Eric Miller Introduction

In high school, I took honors Biology, as well as AP Physics (I and II) and AP Chemistry. I probably liked Physics the most, as I enjoyed the computation and hands-on experience as a way of learning the information.
I’d like to develop a similar fondness of Biology (as well as knowledge of it) that I have for some other science subjects.
The projects that make an impact on the Athens/UGA community or campus. I think that, as a class, we’d enjoy going to high school classrooms to teach them about important topics, or working on cleaning up campus (especially after game days).
Service learning would help us learn why it is important for the general public to care about the environment as well as what biological topics are essential to know even for those who aren’t biologists.
I would like to learn general topics about ecosystems and how different forms of life interact in different environments (e.g. symbiotic relationships).