In addition to the Breast Cancer Awareness booth, the Human Practice team plan to collaborate with the elementary school to further educate the students on breast cancer and synthetic biology. The iGEM team and the elementary school plan to meet during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Since elementary schoolers are curious and always ask why people are wearing pink in October, this collaboration was the best way to answer their questions. We believe that reaching out to the younger students was an important step in educating our community on the detrimental effects of breast cancer. This presentation is also an attempt to spur an interest into synthetic biology and medicine in children.
Due to the delicate nature of Breast Cancer, we worked to develop a child-friendly approach to introducing Breast Cancer. With our goal being for them to grasp the main concepts of breast cancer, cell processes, and synthetic biology, this presentation was effective and will catalyze conversations with their parents and community of peers. Within the presentation, we utilized digital platforms such as Kahoot to engage the students and involve them in the inner workings of breast cancer and patient experiences. We aimed to add onto their science classes by going through cell malfunctions and the result of uncontrolled cell proliferation. Additionally, we aligned our presentation with the school’s “Portrait of a Learner,” emphasizing school goals of “know, value, care.” We connected our project to these goals to reinforce the importance of sympathy despite the fact that the presentation may not relate directly to them. Through experiments such as extracting DNA from a strawberry for the Middle School and diagraming cell features of the Elementary School, we can engage the students and bring life to the topics of their science class by helping them understand how cellular processes create disease.
Apart from explaining breast cancer, its symptoms, and ways to reduce risks, the students will also be educated on synthetic biology. By discussing synthetic biology, the students will be able to understand advancements in technology and hopefully apply to our club to help solve major world problems such as breast cancer. While the collaboration with the elementary school may be limited, we believe this was an essential step toward educating and raising awareness of breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a month-long campaign project organized by iGEM and three other ASIJ clubs—Pre-Medical Society, Fight On!, and Students Advocating for Gender Equality. Through this collaboration between four ASIJ clubs, we hope to engage students' families, and also the faculty, staff, and other associated members of our Japanese community. For the 2022-23 school year, we plan to host multiple community based event booths, guest speaker presentations from Race for the Cure Organization.
A 2-minute animation video on breast cancer promotion created by our iGEM team has been displayed on the TV screens and monitors throughout the ASIJ Campus, starting October 18th, in hopes of engaging our entire ASIJ community on this issue. The pamphlets created this year by clubs and our iGEM team (from topics ranging in pricing for treatment to breast cancer statistics) will be printed and shared with the whole community. They will be distributed to all sectors of ASIJ (ES, MS, and the HS).
For inclusivity purposes, our pamphlets are not only in English, but also in Vietnamese, Chinese, and Filipino. We have noticed and taken into consideration that a majority of our staff (ie. the cleaning ladies) are young women who aren’t fluent in Japanese or English. In order to also target their needs as women, we’ve translated the English pamphlets.
Additionally, our respective clubs' members have designed multiple posters on relevant breast cancer topics like detection and outreach programs that will be posted around the school campus throughout October.
On October 21st, we will have organized an all school Pink Out day, where everyone comes to school wearing pink, the symbolic color for breast cancer. By announcing to the school’s faculty, staff, and students, we aim to create a sense of unity and develop a wide range of understanding and awareness on the importance of breast cancer screening and treatment.
On October 27th, we will have club booths out in the courtyard. Our partnering clubs, Students Advocating for Gender Equality (SAGE), Pre-Medical Society Club, and Fight On! Will all be focusing on their respective themes for this year’s BCA month. The themes for this year will range from loss of femininity to methods of detection and treatment. Beyond ASIJ clubs, we’ll also be hosting a guest seminar-presenter/speaker. Namely, Ms. Sakiko Suzuki from Run for the Cure Japan, a non-profit organization focused on raising awareness in Japanese communities.
This school-wide breast cancer awareness event targeted not only the school, but also to the students, faculty, staff, parents, and cleaners. With the wide array of activities and educational resources provided, the needs of all age groups were rightfully met. With that, we have actively engaged our community with not just our team’s project, but also for the entire topic of breast cancer.
After conducting surveys on the potential testing methods and pricing for breast cancer detection, the Human Practices team spread awareness to the community around us on the importance of self-checks and early detection. Due to the cultural taboo in Japan surrounding breast cancer, we dedicated one side to clearing the taboo and properly informing Japanese women on the method of self-checks, along with potential clinic locations for clinic testing. We were able to hand out roughly 200 pamphlets near Kichijoji station, a popular station near our school, to women of varying ages and demographics and also used this opportunity as a way to connect with the community around us. The pamphlets were in both English and Japanese, with the majority of the ones we handed out to the Japanese community being in their native language.While it was difficult to pass out these pamphlets because of the rush culture in Japan, we believe that we have made a meaningful impact to the people who accepted these pamphelts, for many of these women came back to us after reading the pamphlet to ask more questions about breast cancer. In the future, we hope to continue to raise breast cancer awareness through these small but meaningful ways.
