Week 1 ~ Intro to Epidemiology

Welcome to my first blog post :)

http://www.agencypost.com/2012-communications
-trends-for-nonprofits/

Since this is my first post for HTH 450 (as well as my first blog post ever) I am having a bit of trouble thinking of what to write, but I know it will become easier as I go. I have never had to make a blog for a class before, so I'm excited for this new type of assignment! As of right now I have some knowledge about epidemiology, but I know there will be so much more to learn and discover throughout this course. 

http://kintalk.org/discussion

/breast-cancer-in-lynch-

syndrome-still-a-quandary

Last class (our first class of the semester) something was brought up that I had never really thought about before, and I found it very interesting. Our professor (Dr. Wallis) asked the class if we thought breast cancer is more prevalent now than in the past. It seems like more people are getting breast cancer nowadays, but in actuality this is most likely not the case. Dr. Wallis went on to explain that breast cancer only appears to be more prevalent today because of the new and advanced technology and testing being used. Because of this, more people are being tested resulting in more people being accurately diagnosed with cancer. There is also more awareness now about breast cancer than in the past, so this is another reason why it may seem more prevalent. As breast cancer research continues and more diagnoses are made because of today's better technology, awareness about this cancer grows and grows.

Just learning about that gave me a new perspective about epidemiology and what we will be learning. Not only is it the study of health, disease, and the population, but within that is so much more to learn, recognize, consider, analyze, compare, etc. When it comes to studying trends, correlations, or anything else it seems that there is a lot more than meets the eye, which I'm sure can be very challenging at times. I feel that this course will require a good amount of critical thinking which we can also use in other areas of our lives as well.