The Telescope 65.5

Page 1

FOCUSED ON PALOMAR

the telescope Monday, Oct. 10, 2011

Vol. 65, No. 5

Palomar College, San Marcos, Calif.

Palomar student Ruby Gomez, an aspiring anesthesiologist, died Oct. 1. (Courtesy Xenia Mateiu)

I-15 pileup claims life of med student

(Photo Illustration by Charles Lugtu)

DARIEL WALKER The Telescope

INSIDE

Gabby Goff and her family live in the shadow of a deadly disease. Two of Goff’s great-grandmothers and one grandmother have faced, and beaten, breast cancer diagnoses. The thirdsemester anthropology major fears she may be next. “Because it’s one of those things that is heavily in my family history, it’s just something that I accept that I probably am going to get,” she said. “It sucks, but it doesn’t necessarily scare me, because I’ve seen all of the women in my family beat it.” Goff is one of many women whose family history puts them at high risk for developing the disease. Extensive research has shown breast cancer risk to be higher among women whose close blood relatives have had the disease. But breast cancer doesn’t discriminate. While awareness campaigns—including the infamous “Save the Ta-tas” t-shirts and “I love boobies!” bracelets—

DINNER & DRAG

have successfully curbed death rates after a 1990 peak, the illness is still the second-deadliest type of cancer for women. To avoid becoming another statistic, doctors encourage women to educate themselves, and become aware of the risk they face in developing breast cancer. According to Susan G. Komen, a charity and awareness group fighting breast cancer, there are four steps to breast-self awareness: know your risk, get screened, know what is normal for you, and make healthy lifestyle choices. The first step is knowing your personal risk factor, which is calculated by talking to family members about their health history. The next step of self-awareness is screening. First ask a doctor what tests are right for you, especially if your risks are high. According to the American Cancer Society, women over 20 should have a clinical breast exam at least every three years, and women over 40 should have a mammogram every year. “My doctors are very adamant that I

WRAPPIN’ IT UP

at least get checked twice a year,” Goff said. “It’s a risk with any kind of cancer. You just have to take precautionary measures and do everything you can to catch it early.” The third step is to know what is normal for you, and to pay attention to any changes in the breasts. Some of the changes one should look for include lumps or thickening of the breast, swelling, redness, itchy sores or rashes around the nipple, nipple discharge, and changes in breast size or shape. The fourth and final step of breast selfawareness is to make healthy lifestyle choices. Maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, limiting alcohol intake, and breast-feeding are all things you can do to decrease your chances of developing breast cancer. Sophomore Gracie Sales made an effort to make healthy choices after her two aunts were diagnosed with the disease. “I always try to look at chemicals and try not to use too many chemicals with turn to CANCER, PAGE 10

YOU WANT THIS

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Palomar suffered a loss when photography and aspiring medical student Elvia “Ruby” Gomez died in an accident on Oct. 1 on Interstate 15. The five-car-pile-up, which occurred just south of Mira Mesa at 3 a.m., took Gomez’ life and the life of off-duty police officer Jason Prokop, an ex-combat medic for the U.S. Army Rangers, who tried to render aid to the injured driver. Gomez was driving south when her 1992 Honda Accord stopped suddenly, setting off a chain reaction, which started with Prokop’s 2011 Mazda 6 rearending her vehicle. Moments later, she was sideswiped by a 1998 BMW. Prokop rushed across the freeway and called for medical assistance after examining other drivers and administering first aid DEBBIE SALAZAR to Gomez. On the way SISTER back from his car, Officer Prokop was killed by a 2010 Toyota Corolla driven by an unidentified off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent.

She was a go-getter. She was striving to make a life for herself.

DEADLY DISEASE BREAST CANCER LOOMS AT PALOMAR

IAN HANNER The Telescope

turn to CRASH, PAGE 10

$1.9m grant coming to Palomar science and math programs GIO NIETO The Telescope

Palomar and Cal State San Marcos were awarded a $1.95 million grant for students studying science, technology, engineering and math, according to school officials. The National Science Foundation has awarded the grant to both colleges to develop a five-year program aimed at increasing the number of undergraduates, transfer students and graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.The project is expected to streamline services to help Palomar students transfer to Cal State San Marcos in those fields. “The North County region is a hub for bio-technology and applied sciences,” said Cathy Baur, associate vice president for communications at Cal State San Marcos. “Our ability to train and educate students in these fields is critical to the growth of our region. This grant helps ensure that we have a pool of skilled and educated workers ready to meet the demands of our region’s employers.” (STEP) is a comprehensive and multi-institutional effort to increase the number of STEM students and graduates in the Northern San Diego County The STEP grant funding for Palomar College is approximately $580,000 over the next five years, according to Palomar spokeswoman Laura Gropen. READ MORE ONLINE: http://tsne.ws/pTchS8


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