Cancer Misconceptions: How Does the Media Contribute to Cancer Misconceptions Among the US Population?
Advisor: Dr. Pittman
Internship Location: National Institute of Health
Onsite Mentor: Dr. Hanada, Dr. Gurusamy
This research is attempting to address the problem of misunderstandings that can have many effects. They can impact consumer behaviors, resource allocation, and people’s mental health. It is focused on misunderstandings surrounding a topic that the majority of people in the US have some experience with. I will be doing research at the NIH for my project in Dr. Kenichi Hanada’s cancer research lab and get a glimpse at the experiments he works on. I also intend to interview him about his point of view on the public’s misconceptions about cancer from the point of view of someone currently involved in cancer research. I plan to use sociological research methods. I will collect statistics online and do statistical analysis. Through my internship, I will do interview research as well as learn some background knowledge on cancer and cancer research. I expect to learn about ideas relating to how we can help the American public have a better, unbiased understanding of cancer.
Project Blog
Post 1: Introduction Blog
Hi. My name is Sia. I live in Bethesda, Maryland in walking distance from the National Institutes of Health. I have been aware of my proximity to this large health organization from a young age and been curious about its campus. Because of this, I thought the NIH would be the perfect place to get an internship for my senior project. I could get some work experience at the place I had been interested in for so many years.
I reached out to a family friend who had worked at the NIH and got connected to two scientists working in different NIH labs. Dr. Devi Gurusamy works at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and does mitochondrial biology lab work. I plan to work in her lab in the month of March. Dr. Kenichi Hanada works at the surgery branch and is currently conducting research on renal cell cancer. I plan to work in his lab in April and May. I am super excited to see some NIH labs!
The research aspect of my senior project will be about cancer misconceptions and their sources. I will be looking into the portrayal of cancer in the media as well as cancer warnings and health information. This is a topic I will talk to my internship mentors about as well as research on my own outside of my internship.
Week 1: Blog
Hello again! I’ve spent this first week of the senior project doing research while I work out internship details.
I began by making lists. I listed books, TV shows, and movies I had encountered that referenced cancer. My goal is to find any discernible patterns. I then added onto the list I had already started of books, websites, and documentaries to reference for my project.
Initially, my research journey took me through numerous websites, where I scoured the internet for pertinent information. However, recognizing the amount of time at my disposal dedicated solely to research, I decided to go beyond internet searches. I went to my local library and looked at books to read. I checked out a few books in addition to a DVD of the documentary series Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies that I had been wanting to watch in full for a while. This documentary relates to both my topic and internship. My family friend who connected me to my internship mentor informed me that my mentor was affiliated with Steven Rosenberg’s group. She linked a biographical video of Rosenberg that mentioned that he was famous for his research on immunotherapy, something he talked about in Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies. I then wanted to seek out the segments from the documentary featuring Rosenberg to get context for my upcoming internship. Additionally, it dawned on me that the documentary series as a whole could serve as a valuable resource for tackling misconceptions surrounding cancer.
I was unable to find a place to watch the documentary series for free online, so I ended up checking out the DVD at the library. I watched the first hour of the first DVD (of three). My initial impression of the documentary was positive. It wasn’t the most entertaining thing I had ever watched. It felt a bit long and dense. It would amount to eight hours of information about cancer. However, it gave very detailed information on the history of cancer. Some of these details didn’t seem relevant to my project, but others did. I believe that while my project isn’t focused on history, the history of cancer research is important to understanding and addressing misconceptions relating to cancer. I look forward to continuing my exploration of this documentary and eagerly await the discoveries that lie ahead in my research journey!
Week 2: Blog
This week I have been busy with paperwork to get my badge that will allow me access to the NIH campus in the months of April and May. Paperwork is never fun, but it will definitely be worth it. I am super excited to receive an official looking NIH badge! It will also grant me easy entrance onto the NIH campus. I will be able to avoid going through their complex security process each time.
I am also continuing my research and have looked into major surveys conducted about the American public's attitudes towards cancer. My research is going well as I am finding that many cancer research organizations collect and analyze detailed statistics from a large sample on Americans' perceptions of cancer. I'm pleased with my choice of topic, given the abundance of readily available data.
I'll see you guys again next week for another week of internship preparation and research before I go away for Spring Break. The week after Spring Break will begin my internship. Stay tuned!
Week 3: Blog
This week I have been taking the final steps to get onto the NIH campus. I put together and sent in a resume to the NIH admissions team. I finished more paperwork to get my campus access badge. I look forward to setting foot on the NIH campus the week after Spring Break. Over Spring Break I will be off to Iceland and will be taking a break from my senior project. You can expect to hear back from me in two weeks.
I have also been continuing to work on my senior project paper and continuing looking at resources provided by the American Cancer Society. I have also been analyzing cancer movies, books, and advertisements.
See you in my next blog post!
Week 4: Blog
If there is one thing I learned from this week it would be that cybersecurity is serious business! What's up guys?! I'm back from Iceland and back to work. This week involved more work to get my NIH access badge as well as training. I had a badge enrollment appointment in which the NIH security officers obtained my photograph, fingerprints, and identity proofing.
I then completed my required virtual training on cybersecurity and information management. The cybersecurity lesson was long and dense and covered a wide variety of rules and guidelines. The training made clear that the NIH specifically is a prime target for many hackers. After completing my training, I received my certificates in cybersecurity and information management and was able to put what I learned into practice. I had a meeting with an NIH IT official and set up an NIH email and onedrive as well as downloaded other software I would need to ensure security.
(Marquette CIS)
Beyond learning about cybersecurity, I am still learning about my topic of cancer in the media. This week I have been looking into cancer portrayal in various advertisements. I would definitely call this a successful week in which I learned a lot! See you guys next week!
Week 5: Blog
Hi guys and welcome to another blog entry! This was the week I'd been waiting for! It was the week where I really got to get my hands wet and dive into lab work. It was a very busy week.
At my internship, I had to learn some immunology basics as my internship was for a cancer immunotherapy group. The experiments I was going to assist with all related to T cells and cancer, so I had to do readings about immunology. My mentor also gave me some lectures to reinforce important concepts.
I then got to help my mentor with gene cloning experiments. I helped with PCR and gel electrophoresis for a gene of interest. My favorite experiment was the mini prep for a plasmid extraction. This experiment included filtering the bacteria samples, using a centrifuge, and adding buffers to the bacteria. I also got to watch an experiment that used light sources to identify a specific protein on the mitochondria of a cell sample. All the experiments I did included a wide variety of lab equipment that were new to me. My favorite part of this NIH internship so far is all the fancy lab equipment and the fancy lab space. A nice perk is that I get my own desk in one of the labs.
My internship also includes some desk work. I had to take some virtual training lab safety training courses and attend some virtual presentations on the results of experiments my mentor had worked on. I also worked on keeping data records.
As for my research, it continues to run smoothly. I talked to some of the people I met at the NIH about my topic, and I am gaining new perspective on it. I have now started to think about how important context is when learning about cancer and how easy it is to take cancer information sources out of context.
So that was a brief summary of this very eventful week! Thanks for reading!
Week 6: Blog
This week involved a lot less lessons and training than last week and involved a lot more lab work and presentations. I have gotten used to the NIH campus as it is my second week. I take a 30 minute walk to the visitor entrance and then go through their security process. If I arrive at 7 or 8, there is a super long line at the security center as that is when the majority of visitors arrive whereas if I arrive at a different time, there is no line. I then take a campus shuttle to the building where I work. This building where I work is so much closer to my house than the visitor center; a 10 minute walk as opposed to a 30 minute one. Leaving is so much easier and faster than arriving. I really hope the badge that I applied for will be ready soon because with a badge I can directly enter the building I work at that is so close to my house and skip the security process. But getting the badge takes a long time so I'll just have to deal with this inconvenience. I am also used to having my own desk in one of the labs to work at. I have also become more familiar with where things are at the large, 8 story building I work at.
As for the actual work I've been doing, I've been helping with a lot of plasmid prep and cell culture experiments as well as joining a lot of virtual presentations. Some of these virtual presentations are very long. The longest one I've done was 3 hours. These presentations are very scientific and combine experimental results with already published studies to propose improvements in patient treatment. As they are very scientific, I understand very little of what is going on, but feel that participating in them is still a good experience. The labs, of course, are also a great experience and I am really enjoying using the fancy lab equipment at the NIH lab. All in all I am having a great experience working at the NIH!
Week 7: Blog
Welcome to another blog entry about a week of interning at the NIH! I have continued doing plasmid prep experiments and attending a lot of virtual meetings. I still haven't received my badge yet, so entering campus is still a process.
As for new stuff, I learned about cell freezing and CRISPR. Last week I learned about cell thawing, and this week on Monday my mentor showed me the reverse of this. I got to learn about the process of treating cells and storing them in liquid nitrogen tanks so they can be stored for long periods of time. On Friday, I got to help with a CRISPR experiment. Another new thing I did was seeing the clinic on Monday morning. The NIH surgery branch (where I am interning) does weekly clinical rounds on Mondays where a clinician explains the details of patients' cases to the researchers and then lets them talk to the patients. This week, I got to participate in this. Similar to the virtual meetings I attend, the details of the patients' cases were incredibly scientific and difficult to understand, but also similar to the virtual meetings, I believe the more clinical rounds I attend the more I will understand.
All in all it was another great week of working at the NIH!
Week 8: Blog
Hey guys! Welcome to another blog entry. It's hard to believe that there are only two more weeks left for my internship. Time really flew by. This week I helped with transfection and organoid analysis experiments. I also learned some alternative cell freezing techniques. I attended one virtual meeting that was similar to the other ones I've been doing.
Something completely new I did was attend a poster presentation symposium. These are only held a few times a year so it was a particularly unique opportunity. They are open to any NIH worker as well as to the general public (although there are not a lot of visitors from the general public). Many NIH departments hosted sessions at this symposium and I attended the one for the National Cancer Institute. At first glance the content on the posters about research projects people had done seemed just as complicated as the content covered in the virtual meetings I regularly attend, but each poster was presented by someone who gave detailed, comprehensive rundowns of their posters and were happy to answer questions along the way. The presenters also talked about their jobs, so the symposium was a great opportunity to not only learn about cancer research projects going on at the NIH, but also to learn about NIH job opportunities.
CRISPR came up in the presentations and I mentioned doing a CRISPR experiment last week, so I thought I'd talk some more about that. I found it really cool that I got to do an experiment with it as it is a recent development and has been in the news lately. My internship mentor talked about how revolutionary the development is and how many people at the NIH still haven't yet used it considering how new it is. It is revolutionary because it allows tiny parts of a genetic sequence to be edited. My mentor and I discussed the fact that there are many ethical issues. It could be dangerous as well as unnecessary to use for frivolous purposes such as changing someone's eye color, but also offer technology to cure many genetic disorders.
As I've continued to work on my paper, I've realized how my internship experience has helped me see why many common cancer misconceptions are incorrect. For instance, a common misconception is that cancer research is fruitless because there is no cure in sight. I am seeing first hand that there is a lot of cancer research going on. Through clinical rounds, I see how much research and discussion really goes into each individual patient. I also talked to some of the NIH workers about the common misconception that everyday objects cause cancer and they say that this is because people read and hear things without considering what context it is said in and that in a job like cancer research, context is super important.
To close, I should note that I probably am not going to get an NIH badge. I did my fingerprint testing, but since badging takes a long time, it is possible that they didn't prioritize creating a badge for me as I was only going to be on campus for a month. If anyone reading this is considering getting a short job at the NIH, perhaps consider not applying for a badge. The lines might be annoying (mainly if you arrive at 7-8), but it won't be too big of a hassle. And an NIH job is definitely worth it!
Thanks for reading.
Week 9: Blog
What's up? This was a good week both in terms of my internship and research.
I did the usual stuff such as clinical rounds and virtual meetings as well as some new experiments. Here is a cool looking view of the cells I experimented with under a microscope:
This shows a positive result, meaning a transfection experiment I did was a success.
Speaking of results, here are some noteworthy key points about cancer misconceptions:
Noteworthy Cancer Misconceptions in the US:
Lack of perceived control over cancer prevention
Overestimation of fatality of cancer
Links betweeen certain everyday objects (e.g. plastic, deoderant) and cancer
Fear that cancer can be contagious
Belief that attitude significantly impacts cancer risk and outcome
Overestimation of the role of genetic predisposition in cancer development and outcome
Role of Media
Hollywood films promote misconceptions about survivability, treatment options, and costs
Social media promotes unproven treatments
Social media promotes myths about common household objects causing cancer
News articles promote overly optimistic views of cancer treatment
Advertisements promote fears of everyday products being associated with cancer
Products labels promote fears of everyday products being associated with cancer
There is an abundance of publicly available credible sources about cancer, but they are often difficult for the public to comprehend
I hope you found some of this interesting. Thank you for reading.
Week 10: Blog
Hello and welcome to my last blog post. I am working on my final presentation and paper and reflecting on all the experiences I've had this trimester. I thought I'd conclude this blog with some closing thoughts and advice for anyone doing a senior project in the future:
Advice
Do this project in any order you like. It works just as well to choose an internship you really want and then choose a research question based on the internship than it does to choose very specific question you want to research and then choose an internship to help answer that question
If you are contacting someone you like about an internship, consider not throwing out the word internship right away and first saying how interesting their work seems and how you'd like to learn about it for a senior project. If they seem interested in your senior project and helping you out, work up to asking for an internship
Because of the previous point I made, start contacting people about internships early on
Don't be disappointed if you can't get all the benefits you wanted you see other employers having during your unpaid internship opportunity. I would have loved to have a badge, free parking, and full access to certain lab equipment and software but I have to remember that I am not truly working for anyone and am benefiting from getting to learn from other employees
Keep daily reflections of what you have done. It is easy to forget and you never know what details could come in handy for blogs, conversations, the syllabus assignment, your final presentation, etc.
Be prepared to talk about your topic. Anytime you mention to anyone whether it be your internship mentor, friends outside of school, or neighbors that you are not doing traditional school this trimester or are working on a senior project, they will want to hear all about it. So be prepared
Choose a topic you are genuinely interested in. You will have to do so much with this topic throughout the year. This is not the kind of project where you should just choose a topic that simply sounds impressive
Take advantage of this senior project as a good talking point. The people at the NIH loved hearing about my senior project and it is something I am using to stay in contact with some of the people I met there. In general, there was hardly anyone I talked to about this senior project who didn't say, "I wish I could have done something like this in high school"
And...most importantly
Choose to do this project if you are having second thoughts. You won't regret it!
And if you're still reading and want to hear more about cancer misconceptions, here is a conclusion to that:
My "Take" on Cancer Misconceptions
The main cancer misconceptions I see in the media and from conversations with people is the idea that things like cell phones cause cancer (and people often phrase it that way rather than say "are linked to cancer") and that cancer is almost always deadly. People think cancer is an incurable death sentence and that while constant research is being done, the research is going nowhere. I have learned through my internship that this last part is not true at all and that research is making a lot of progress and lot's of research is often done surrounding each patient's case.
Thanks for reading.