Thesis (M.A.)--Kent State University, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 29, 2008). Advisor: David Kaplan. Keywords: American Cancer Society; Relay For Life; nonprofit; nonprofits; nonprofit mission; nonprofit fundraising; nonprofit structure; nonprofit giving; nonprofit donors; nonprofit volunteers; nonprofit geography; fundraising; charitable giving. Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-71).

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Biotechnology) / Breast cancer is regarded as the most common form of cancer in women and it comprises of approximately 23 % of female cancers, while affecting women at any age range. For oestrogen receptor positive patients, tamoxifen is used as a prescribed medication for breast cancer therapy. However, tamoxifen in its natural form is not active to achieve the required treatment and prevention of breast cells proliferation. Since tamoxifen is a prodrug, it need to be converted into its active form, endoxifen, for which it is achieved by the action of the cytochrome P450 enzymes. Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is a member of cytochrome P450 enzymes for which are superfamily of heme enzymes characterised by their ability to catalyse the oxidative reactions of compounds, including the pathway of tamoxifen metabolism. However, due to polymorphism that lead to inactive phenotypes of CYP2D6 in this gene, there is a challenge of diagnosing if a patient can metabolise tamoxifen or not. The current diagnostic tool, Amplichip CYP450, for CYP2D6 is based on genotypes, and it lead to uncertainness as to whether the presence of functionalCYP2D6 alleles of CYP2D6 may lead to coding of active protein, thus leading to wrong treatment measures and overdose of tamoxifen. Electrochemical techniques have provided reliable, simple, quick, and sensitive methods for the determination of drug metabolism by enzymes. Therefore, it is important to develop a CYP2D6 phenotype-based sensor to detect and tell whether a particular individual can metabolise the drug or not.

Cancer patients report having a high need for cancer information. Several studies show that the majority of patients surveyed report preferring information from the American Cancer Society (ACS). Ranging up to 129 pages, the ACS’ Detailed Guides (DG) are widely distributed throughout the United States, and offer patients an authoritative guide to help patients navigate the difficult terrain of the cancer journey. This dissertation examines the ACS’ cervical, endometrial, ovarian, penile, prostate, testicular, and vaginal cancer guides. Through a rhetorical analysis of the 7 guides, it was shown that the ACS DGs in question foster gendered narratives that strictly limit the type, range, and quality of information offered to cancer patients. These limitations and their resulting exclusions pose serious risks of misinformation and isolation among vulnerable patient populations with high information needs. Three recommendations are offered to help mitigate the issues identified within the ACS DGs, to improve the quality of information offered in the DGs, and to subsequently help improve patient quality of life.

This article reports a study which compared current donors, lapsed donors, and nondonors to the American Cancer Society in terms of their demographic characteristics, donation motives, likelihood with which these motives would be satisfied as a result of donating to a charitable organization, and the level of concern expressed regarding a variety of health issues. Results and implications of the study are discussed.

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Black American women have the highest screening rates for cervical cancer among all the ethnic groups in the United States. Even though evidence from the literature suggests that the number of deaths from cervical cancer in the United States could be reduced by preventive screening, this particular minority population still suffers disproportionately higher mortality from the disease than the other minority and majority populations in the United States. This study was proposed to investigate cancer screening disparities among different subpopulations of women residing in the United States during 1999, and to recommend public health interventions that could potentially increase cervical cancer screening rates, thereby decreasing differential mortality rates for cervical cancer among these subpopulations. The Preventive Health Model in conjunction with data from the 1999 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System was used to identify the covariates of cervical cancer screening behavior in an ethnically diverse population of American women residing in the United States during the specified timeframe. Univariate, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression procedures were used to evaluate the association between each one of the independent variables and the dependent variable (compliance with the 1999 cervical screening guidelines of the American Cancer Society). One of the major findings of this study was that Black, White and Hispanic American women were more similar in their screening behavior than dissimilar. The study also showed that the disparity in cervical cancer screening behavior in this population is in age, rather than in ethnic origin. Black, White and Hispanic American women of child-bearing age (18-44 years) were more likely to be compliant with the 1999 cervical cancer screening guidelines of the American Cancer Society, than Black, White and Hispanic American women who were not of child-bearing age (45 to 64 years). Implications for public health intervention studies are discussed, and recommendations made for future research in this area of cervical cancer screening behavior.

This thesis investigates volunteering as performance. In exploring this topic I discuss a dynamic between self-interest and selflessness in the observable performance of service through the social mechanisms of volunteerism. I argue that self-interest is a prominent motivation for volunteering, but its overt performance is kept in check by norms that emphasize selflessness. My argument centers on addressing this lack of acknowledgement toward self-interest within vernacular culture. My research draws examples from an individual, organizational, and global volunteer perspective. Ethnographic research was conducted for this study with a student group that organizes one of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life fundraisers. Within this organization, I conceptualize volunteering as a performance that requires a social actor to not just “do” service, but also “show do” and/or “explain show do” their behavior in front of an audience. This presentation culminates in a cultural performance where participants at Relay For Life perform a narrative of selflessness. Expanding my discussion of volunteering to a global perspective, my last chapter addresses volunteer tourism. I argue that the self-interest of both volunteers and volunteer travel companies reduces the recipients of volunteer tourism to essentialized and exociticized cultural "Others." I advocate for the overt acknowledgement of self-interest not only because self-interest is present, but also because it is a central dynamic that constructs volunteerism as performance.