Nutrition and Cancer

A very nice class. Well organized and taught by researchers from a great institute. Still, I think, the name is misleading. There is not much direct information about nutrition and cancer, as the title suggests! There is a lot of information about research and methods to study. So, it is really a nice class to learn about various ways to conduct research, evaluate the authenticity of research, and how the research is reported in news. If one is looking for a class that covers what the title suggests, there are many classes on other MOOCs, like Future Learn. Fees are high on edX if one needs to audit the class at their own pace (audit access is given only for a limited time). Audit access is free for a limited time only. I needed more time to explore, as I was doing some more interesting classes on other MOOCs on a similar topic, so I actually paid the fees, and well, since I had paid the fees, I completed the class! Still, I would recommend you explore this class in the audit mode and then decide if you want to keep this class on your dashboard --- then can pay for the certificate and upgrade your audit access.

I am sure, those interested in research in the field would love the class. I loved the class, still, if the audit access was not for a limited time, I would have only audited this class! There is no unlimited subscription on the edX platform, so, one can not audit multiple classes at the same time to learn at their own pace, so, be careful, if you are auditing this class and love it, you may choose to pay for the certificate! This will guarantee the class material on your dashboard for future reference.

I took this class as a cancer patient, who wanted to learn to be better informed to take care of my health through lifestyle changes! I am a lifelong learner, so, I apply my learning to upgrade my healthspan, live happy, and healthy. Happy learning and living!

A highly insightful course for anyone to pursue. This great course introduces most aspects from prevention to survival, and even on press reporting. Of great help for anyone to access information and research interests would be the topics on types of cancers and the various methods of approach to intervention. There was information given on general knowledge of how cancer is managed, from lifestyle changes to diet and supplementation and even some touchpoints on epigenetics and great tips on guidelines for cancer survivors. Would highly recommend everyone to participate in this course, whether as an introduction or as a refresher for updates through the reference links provided.

As much as I aprreciate the efforts of the people involved in making the course, unfortunately I found it’s content extremely light on information. In my opinion, this course barely scratched the surface of the topic of nutrition and cancer.

Of 5 modules, only 3 discuss nutrition and cancer. The first module is entirely about research methods and forms a great chunk of the course. I appreciate the importance of everyone understanding which info can be obtained from different research methods and the often misunderstood difference between correlation and causation. This allows people to judge the value of a scientific claim for themselves. However, this chapter was very exhaustive and in stark contrast to the lack of depth of the chapters actually discussing cancer and nutrition.

I would have expected an introductory chapter to, at the minimum, explain the biological mechanisms of the development and progression of cancer, and the differences between cancers. This was not the case, and in fact, the course hardly contains any detailed explanations of biological or biochemical mechanisms. Nor does it contain much data, statistics or numbers, that would give a good overview of the topic, for example.

Further, I found it frustrating that a course so light on in-depth information, encourages students to do their own further research: doing this course IS my own further research into the topic (or so I had hoped). Unfortunately, I learned very little from this course.

Great course with great insights into nutrition and the oncology landscape. I got to learn about different research studies that can be utilized in the research process. There were thought provoking insights on role of genetics and their correlation with nutrition and how some people are at increased risk of developing cancers with certain diets. I also got to know that although we hear a lot about different herbs and fruits like carrots having impact on cancer prevention and survival , but in reality there are no solid recommendation for cancer survivors regarding nutrition and diet. One major reason for that are the challenges to be taken into account and limitations of study because of role of multiple factors in cancer survivorship from stage at diagnosis, to age, to BMI, to various nutrients and so forth. It is absolutely Worth taking!

I am located in the United States am currently enrolled in the Nutrition and Cancer course. I was particularly excited to enroll in this course so as to get an European view of Nutrition and Cancer. The course overall has been very informative and provided information that I find new and thought provoking. What I am finding difficult is the testing. I am not sure if it is the way the course is presented or a bit of a language gap, even though the course is in clear English. I really struggled with providing the correct answers even after thoroughly researching. I personally found that many of the questions seemed to be "trick questions" rather than a chance to further instill and educate the student. I like courses that require you to think out of the box but I felt like there was some data missing that could have aided me to choose correct answers based on facts rather than having to guess. The way the course began placing emphasis on communication of the technical studies to the public has been interesting. While it could be useful at a later date and drove home the concept of clearly disseminating and absorbing medical studies conclusions, I'm not sure it should make up 20% of the peer review final grade.

I appreciate all the helpful and interesting information taught in this course. Learning official guidelines from world organizations has been enlightening. I look forward to feeling equipped and joining the community of people working to make a difference in public health.

Here are areas where I feel the course could be improved:

1) Give a sample quiz prior to the midterm to give verified learners an idea of the types of questions that will be asked. I found a few of the questions surprising for their seeming irrelevance to the goals stated for the course. Though I took copious notes on issues of public health during lectures, I did not record detailed information on some of the seeming minutia regarding minor points of study types, etc. Giving students an early quiz would help us to know where to focus our note taking.

2) Have a native English speaker who is proficient at English grammar review the test questions. I am a math and science teacher who sometimes edits scientific articles professionally, and I found at least two of the questions difficult to interpret due to outright grammatical errors or ambiguity.

3) Verified learners should evaluate the essays of other verified learners. After I submitted my essay at the end of Module 3, I received two other essays to evaluate. It seemed clear that both were written by students who were only auditing the class, since both were unusually short and did not address the points in the assignment rubrik. I have not received an evaluation for my essay yet, but I hope to glean helpful feedback from a student who is invested enough in the course to apply thoughtful consideration.

Overall, I am thankful that this course is available, and I appreciate all that I am learning.