Today marks a very special day for me. Finally, after months of hard work and some months of not so hard work I've finally submitted both hard and electronic copies of my dissertation. I mentioned my course in one of my early posts but I am going to write a little more about it, and my aims and aspirations.
The title of my dissertation was 'How do DNA repair mistakes induce cancer?'. I was able to choose which area of this topic my dissertation would specialise in so I chose to write about the BRCA proteins. They are basically proteins which are essential in repairing mistakes in DNA replication. Some women (and men) have faulty genes which code for these proteins, and this puts them at a higher risk of acquiring breast and ovarian cancer. If you've heard of them it's probably because they've been highlighted in the media recently, with Angelina Jolie having had a double mastectomy (breast removal) due to having faulty BRCA genes. It's a mutation which can be inherited from ones mother and/or father so is often identified when theres a higher than normal rate of breast or ovarian cancer in ones family. Preventative methods include mastectomy and ovary removal.
During the first few months of writing my dissertation my mum was actually being treated for breast cancer. Not due to the BRCA proteins luckily for me! I was a bit worried that writing about breast cancer might upset me or in some way my mums illness might make writing it harder but I ended up finding it really interesting. I also wrote an essay in my first year at uni in which I was allowed to choose the title, and I chose 'anticancer drugs'. I learnt so much whilst reading around the different drugs: the way in which they work to fight cancer, why they cause the side effects that they do etc. I found it all so interesting which confirmed for me that it was a possible career path.
Last year I shopped around online to see what postgraduate courses there were available to me in the oncology field. I wanted to be based in or around London so that I could live at home or at Jesse's and commute to save some money. The first one I found really caught my eye as the course content all sounded very interesting and the structure of the course and location were perfect. It was a one year masters in Cancer Therapeutics with Queen Mary University of London in association with Barts Cancer Institute. I applied to a few others to spread my chance of getting an offer but really had my heart set on this particular course. There were only 20 places on the course and after a month or two I was adamant that they didn't want me, but luckily (I deserved some luck!) I was given a conditional place!!
I deferred the course until 2014/2015 so I could have a 'gap yah', do a bit of travelling and save up a bit of money. Unfortunately my gap year has ended up very different to my plan as I'll be finishing my treatment and then working towards the my deferred final year exams. I'll be able to squeeze a bit of travelling in in the summer though so all is not lost!
I'm doing a clinical trials research methods course in November as long as all my treatment goes to plan, and am hoping to do some work experience in Cancer Research UK's clinical trials office at some point once I'm better. So that's the aim.. I am so over organised and love having a good plan. It's something to look forward to!!
No comments:
Post a Comment