Wednesday, August 6, 1997 - The Michigan Daily - 3 Cinton s ancer xperts eetat'U' eather Wiggin a y StaffReporter Members of the President's Cancer anel came to the University Medical enter Thursday to discuss the current tate of cancer research and treatment of lderly patients. The meeting was a public summit titled "Cancer and the Aging Population" featuring presentations out- lining issues that affect older Americans. Topics included new research findings, ods of preventing and managing ca er among the elderly and survivor- ship. The PCP attended to "monitor the National Cancer Program and to report on barriers to achieving goals" PCP Executive Secretary Maureen Wilson said. The summit was one of four meetings taking place this year that will identify the needs of special populations affected 1ancer. Information from each meet- ing is compiled by the PCP and annual- ly reported to President Clinton. The summit was held at the University Medical Center because it is the "only site in the country that has cancer and geriatrics in one site," said Max Wicha, director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Wicha said that cancer experts need to recognize the special needs of elderly p ents because the disease is most c imon in the older population. "The elderly are often under-treated and under-diagnosed," UCLA Prof. Patricia Ganz said. Ganz said more joint research in oncology and geriatrics is necessary. "Geriatric researchers are not usually a part of the cancer center" 'U' profs discover future of North Star FILE PHOTO Max Wicha, director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center stands outside the President's Cancer Panel meetings last week in the University Medical Center. By Tina Zanier Daily Staff Reporter When some people think of the North Pole of the sky, they also think of Polaris, also known as the North Star. Many say that Polaris exactly marks the North Pole of the sky, however, sev- eral professors and graduate students from the University's astronomy depart- ment believd otherwise. Astronomy Prof Richard Teske's stud- ies have shown that Polaris is actually a small distance away from the North Pole. The separation between them is changing from The E one year to the next. The star ike aspi current distance from the exact op North Pole isthe width ofone and one-half full Astron moons. "The Earth's axis of rotation is an imaginary line that points upwards" Teske said. "The bright- est star closest to where the axis points is Polaris. The unusual thing is that the Earth's rotational axis toward which it points is changing. "The Earth is like a spinning top. The axis toward which it points is changing, the wobbling rotation causes it to point at different areas of the sky. It makes a com- plete rotational circle every 26,000 years" Teske said that itsis important to note that the reason why Polaris is displaced is, "not because you are moving nor because the star is moving, but rather due to the Earth wobbling like a top:' There is a reason that the Earth wob- bles, Teske said, "if the sun and moon s n 1i were not around, it would not happen due to the loss of gravity pull." Astronomy Prof. Gary Bemstein said that the changing of the North Star was first noticed by Hippocros. "He guessed that the North Pole of the Earth was going in a complete circle every 26,000 years," Bernstein said. "People have been able to observe this ever since.' Aside from the changing distance between Polaris and the exact point ofthe celestial North Pole, Polaris is also drift- ing very slowly away from it. "It will be thou- sands of years rt h is before any other star as bright as in g o Polaris will be at the North Pole;' Bernstein said. Richrd Tske Astronomy R ichard Teske Prof. Richard omy professor Sears saidit is evi- dent which star will become the next North Star. "Vega will be the next North Star in 11,000 years," Sears said. "Other than that, there will not be any other North Stars after Polaris." Changes in the position of the North Star can be detected, said astronomy graduate student Carrie Smith. "Using the proper equipment, you could observe changes in it, but not by using the naked eye" Smith said. Sears said that changes can only be detected by the eye after years of study. "We have to observe it dver periods of time' he said. "We can measure changes to one one-thousandth of an arc second. It has been calculated that you can observe changes in it over a period of years." University of Wisconsin Prof. Paul Carbone said that surgeons are willing to operate on older patients. However, the elderly may not receive all forms of ther- apy due to lack of information about cancer treatment for older generations, including knowing the appropriate doses of drugs and chemotherapy for the elder- ly. "In my opinion, chronological age is not so important - treat the patients based on physiological factors;' Carbone said. Cancer has been an important concern of Americans since 1971 when President Nixon signed the National Cancer Act. The act began the war on cancer and aimed to make the "conquest of cancer a national crusade." Currently, about 7.4 million Americans alive today have cancer or are in remission, according to American Cancer Society projections. In 1997 alone, an estimated 1,382,400 new cases of cancer in the United States are expect- ed. Even with modern advances in cancer research, one in three women and one in two men will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. Currently, about 40 percent of people with cancer are alive five years after the diagnosis. There are many opportunities to get involved in cancer education at the University. For example, students can join University Students Against Cancer or volunteer at the Cancer Center. Learning about cancer is an important step to staying healthy, many cancer experts said. "The first issue to deal with is preven- tion- there are a lot of students that think cancer won't happen to them;' for- mer USAC President Brian Drozdowski said. "There's a lot we can do right now, such as quitting smoking, increasing fruits and vegetables in our diets and exercising" Interested persons also can call the University Cancer Answer Line to get information about the disease. The num- ber is 1-800-865-1125. 4RCADE tned from Page 1 leaving the other day" White said, "They are currently ona one- year lease, but were offered a long-term lease if they wanted it. We even talked to (the post office) about accommodating reno- vations and upgrades." Instead, White was told during discussions with regional post offee officials in Chicago that the real reason for the move was to make space for additional marketing. Location was a major selling point in the Galleria mall site's selection, Fuller said. The South University Avenue district has lacked a full-ser- post office since the postal service's East University station closed more than three decades ago. "The Arcade is only three blocks from Liberty station" Fulmer said. "This way, we'll be able to serve the other side of campus too." But this line of reasoning has not deterred Nickels Arcade merchants from continuing efforts to keep the old station intact. "We hope to keep the post office through enough general public support," Seifman said. "We're trying to contact all the (newspaper) and in our store we even have a petition going" White said any fears of a significant drop in sales may be exaggerated. "The post office created traffic through the arcade," White said. "I think an addition like a good retail shop could accom- plish the same thing." CLINTON Continued from Page i implementation of the bill and its compo- nents, remembers her days as a mother going to school and applauds the deci- sion. "I am extremely pleased with the edu- cational tax breaks," Rivers said. "To see r*ey finally going to education is great news, in my opinion" Other benefits are provided by the bill, including tax-free education sav- ings accounts into which families may deposit $500 annually for each child of 18 years or younger. This account may only be used for college expenses, becoming a penalty-free liquid account only when money is withdrawn for post-secondary education. Michigan Student Assembly Rep. Dan Serota said the assembly has met with some Michigan delegates to dis- cuss these bills. Although there is an income cutoff, Serota said these bills will benefit most students. "I think this is a really great benefit for students," he said. "It's an advantage for most students, not all, because there is an income cutoff, this is a big break on taxes. It effectively lowers costs, which is something that has been needed for a long time." Clinton, who proposed the bill and has long been a strong advocate of education for all high school graduates, has received praise for his emphasis on schooling.