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Hailing from Crownsville, Maryland, Jack Andraka's uncle and an acquaintance both died of pancreatic cancer—he couldn’t stop wondering why it was such a quick, nearly unstoppable killer - survival rate is bout 5.5%. Jack found that one reason for the poor survival rate from pancreatic cancer was the lack of early detection and a rapid, sensitive, inexpensive screening method.
He began to think of various ways of detecting and preventing cancer growth and terminating the growth before the cancer cells become pervasive. He developed a paper sensor that could detect pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancer in five minutes for as little as 3 cents - The method is similar to diabetic testing strips, utilizing just a pinprick of blood. He conducted his research at John Hopkins University. This research could change the face of cancer and promote early detection. (article idea submitted by Michael from Illinois)
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