THE FOX CHASE CANCER CENTER
Near McKinley School in Abington Township is a hospital that has helped
many of our community members. The Fox Chase Cancer Center is located
on the northern edge of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is made up of
two facilities; the American Cancer Hospital and the Institute for
Cancer Research. The American Cancer Hospital was built in 1904, and
was then called the American Oncologic Hospital because at that time
people were afraid to speak the word 'cancer'. In 1927 the Institute
for Cancer Research was founded. In 1974 the American Oncologic
Hospital and the Institute for Cancer Research joined to form the Fox
Chase Cancer Center. Together they are the fourth largest cancer
hospital of the 37 cancer centers in the United States.
During the 1970's Dr. B. Blumberg, a member of the staff, won a Nobel
Prize for Medicine. Later the hospital was named to the National
Inventor's Hall of Fame. The Fox Chase Cancer Center has helped many
people with cancer and will continue for years to come.
Math Problem:
A doctor was researching a cancerous tumor that has a radius of 2 mm.
If he knows that the radius grows steadily by 2 mm each week, what
would the diameter of the tumor be by the end of a year?
Given its size at the end of that year, if this tumor was treated with
medicines to make it shrink 3 mm per week, how many weeks would it take
to disappear?
Solving the problem:
In order to solve the problem, one must know how many weeks are in a
year, and what is the relationship between a radius and a diameter.
Once these are known, some multiplication, addition, and division are
all that are needed to solve the problem.
Math Topic and Grade Level: Geometry, Computation; Grades 5 Standards: Geometry Careers: Medicine, Biologist, Chemist, Research