Education
Understanding Through Awareness
At the beginning of our Human Practices journey, our team realized that even though cancer is one of the most recognized diseases in the world, public understanding of its biological mechanisms, treatment options, and socioeconomic impact remains surprisingly limited. Many people know cancer as a dangerous, life-threatening disease, but few understand why it occurs, how it spreads, and what modern science is doing to combat it.
To address this gap, we decided that education would be one of the most meaningful contributions we could make through our iGEM project. Before developing any materials, we conducted a public awareness survey to assess what people actually know about cancer --- its causes, treatments, costs, and accessibility. This survey helped us understand the real questions and misconceptions that exist among the general public.
By analyzing these responses, we identified recurring themes: uncertainty about what cancer actually is, confusion regarding the difference between chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and widespread concern about the cost and fairness of treatment. With this data as our foundation, we developed a student-driven educational presentation designed not for scientists, but for the general audience --- students, parents, and anyone curious about understanding cancer in a clear, approachable way.
From Awareness to Action
Our education initiative evolved through a step-by-step process grounded in feedback and practical design thinking.
We began by translating the survey results into specific educational objectives. For example, when we noticed that over half of the respondents misunderstood how cancer develops, we built our first presentation section --- "What Cancer Really Is" --- to clarify the biological basics. We used relatable analogies, such as comparing cancerous cells to weeds overtaking a garden, helping audiences visualize uncontrolled cell growth in an intuitive way.
Next, we focused on treatment awareness. Many respondents believed that chemotherapy was the only form of treatment available. To counter this misconception, we introduced the "Big Three" traditional treatments --- surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation --- and then expanded into newer, less invasive options like targeted therapy and immunotherapy. By explaining how these modern treatments harness the body's own defense systems, we aimed to show that cancer therapy is not static but constantly evolving.
We also discovered that one of the most under-discussed issues among survey participants was the financial and emotional burden of cancer care. Our presentation's third segment, "Cost and Accessibility," tackled this directly, explaining why treatments are expensive and why access varies between individuals and countries. Rather than overwhelming the audience with numbers, we explained the reasoning behind the costs --- the long research process, the personalized nature of treatment, and the requirement for specialized care.
Finally, the survey revealed that many people feel anxious or hesitant toward new therapies. We dedicated a portion of the presentation to "Hesitation Toward New Therapies", exploring public concerns about trust, safety, and accessibility of emerging treatment options. By addressing these fears with empathy and clarity, we encouraged the audience to view scientific progress not as something distant or intimidating, but as an ongoing collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and patients.
Educational Presentation
We have all come across cancer in our lives, whether through textbooks, the news, or personal experience. This disease continues to have a major impact on people around the world. Yet, despite how well-known cancer is, many people still have gaps in their understanding of how it develops and how it is treated.
Today, we are here to talk about cancer and the ways it can be treated.
In simple terms, cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. Normally, our cells follow strict rules: they grow, divide, and eventually die when they are supposed to. But cancer cells break the rules. Instead of stopping when they should, they keep multiplying.
One way to picture this is like a garden. In a healthy garden, plants grow in order. But if weeds start growing uncontrollably, they take over the garden. Cancer is like those weeds---cells that grow and spread without control.
Even worse, cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. This process is called metastasis. In metastasis, cancer cells break away from the place where they first formed and create new tumors in other parts of the body.
Now that we know what cancer is, let's look at how it can be treated.
When it comes to treatment, there are what we call the "big three": surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
Surgery is straightforward. It means physically removing the tumor from the body.
Chemotherapy uses strong drugs that kill fast-growing cells, including cancer cells.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams to destroy cancer cells. It can also shrink tumors by damaging the DNA inside the cells so they can no longer grow.
These methods have been the standard treatments for many years.
But more recently, scientists have developed new approaches such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy.
Targeted therapy works like a precision strike. Instead of attacking all cells, these medicines focus on cancer's weak spots, going after specific molecules that the cancer cells need to survive.
Immunotherapy is a different strategy. Rather than directly attacking cancer cells, it boosts the patient's immune system, training it to recognize and destroy the cancer.
Traditional treatments tend to affect many cells in the body, while newer ones are more focused and personalized, giving us smarter and more effective ways to fight cancer.
As medical procedures and treatments are usually labeled as expensive, Cancer treatments usually tend to follow the trend. However, not many people know how much cancer treatment really costs and why these costs arise.
Cancer treatments have a wide price range, ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on the type of treatment you choose. These prices are heavily dependent on the expensive drug development stage and specialised treatment. No one's cancer can be treated the same way, each and every patient needs to receive highly personalised care.
Following up, cost is mainly determined by technology, hospital resources and the long-term care cancer needs. Cancer isn't a disease you can cure overnight or in a few weeks, it's a disease that lasts almost a lifetime, requiring long and systematic care.
Due to these inflated costs, not everyone diagnosed with cancer is able to receive treatment and proper care. Cancer is not a disease that you can pick and choose to have, instead it is a disease that affects anyone regardless of needs. Everyone should have access to life-saving treatments.
Our team, TJI-Seoul, put out a survey asking the general public about how much they understand and know about cancer. Many survey respondents responded by saying that they felt that there wasn't enough cancer education, and that they felt that more education would be useful.
Education in these fields is so important. Cancer is a life-changing disease which can happen to anyone, anywhere. Being educated on diseases like cancer is so important to make sure that people are not afraid or misled about the disease.
It is important that the basic symptoms about diseases are educated on as people may be able to spot diseases when they first develop, which may play a crucial role in saving their lives.
When people hear the word cancer treatment, the first thing that often comes to mind is fear. And this fear isn't just about the disease itself, but it's about the treatment process.
One of the biggest concerns patients have on cancer treatment is the side effects. Chemotherapy and radiation are known for not only attacking cancer cells but also healthy ones, causing fatigue, hair loss, or nausea, which makes treatment feel even more overwhelming.
Another concern is the effectiveness of treatment. Because every cancer behaves differently, patients and families often ask: "will this actually work for me?"
And even if the treatment is successful, there's still the constant fear of relapse -- the cancer "coming back". That uncertainty weighs heavily on people's minds.
On top of this, there's the financial burden. With costs running into tens of thousands of dollars, families can feel forced to make impossible decisions about care.
Finally, we cannot ignore the issue of accessibility. Not every patient lives near advanced hospitals or has access to the latest treatments. This creates a real inequality in who survives and who doesn't.
Now, let's shift to the newer types of treatment we mentioned earlier -- treatments like targeted therapy and immunotherapy. These treatments bring a sense of hope. But at the same time, many patients hesitate before choosing them.
One reason is uncertainty. As these treatments are relatively new, patients worry about side effects that may not even be fully understood yet. Another concern is limited availability. Not every hospital is equipped to offer these therapies, and in some countries they're not available at all. There's also a question of trust and awareness. Some people feel skeptical, or they don't fully understand how these treatments work, which makes them hesitate. And finally, success rates can be unpredictable. For one patient, immunotherapy may completely change their outcome, but for another, it may not work at all.
So while modern therapies represent an exciting future, the hesitation people feel reminds us that medical progress has to go hand-in-hand with education, affordability, and accessibility.
Impact and Reflection
The educational presentation was delivered in several public and school settings, where it received positive feedback for being clear, engaging, and easy to follow. Students and attendees reported that the session changed how they thought about cancer --- no longer as a mysterious, uncontrollable disease, but as a biological problem that science is continually learning to manage more effectively.
Beyond raising awareness, the program also served as a form of two-way communication. During and after each session, we encouraged questions from the audience and documented their feedback. These insights helped us recognize which concepts resonated most and which areas required clearer explanation. Importantly, the process also reinforced the need for public-facing science communication --- a skill that our student team members will continue to develop beyond iGEM.
By combining data-driven analysis (through our survey) with empathetic outreach (through education), we created an initiative that embodies the essence of iGEM's Human Practices: integrating science with society in a way that is both accessible and meaningful.
Looking Ahead
Our next goal is to expand the reach of this educational material by transforming the presentation into an online module, making it available for schools and community groups that wish to use it in the future. We plan to include interactive quizzes and simplified animations that can help visualize cancer biology and treatment mechanisms.
Through this project, we learned that education is not simply about delivering facts --- it's about bridging understanding between science and society. By making complex scientific concepts approachable, we hope to inspire curiosity, reduce fear, and promote empathy for those living with cancer.
