Let’s Talk Cancer event brings high school students to campus

Is cancer something that we can see? Is it friendly? Is it dangerous?

How much do you know about cancer?

Local secondary school students got answers to these questions and more during the inaugural Let’s Talk Cancer event hosted at McMaster University.

The goal of the event is to inspire the next generation of cancer researchers by showing them how STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) play a role in cancer research and show students the impact of cancer research in their communities. The day includes seminars from research professionals along with a variety of activities designed to give students hands-on opportunities to learn how cancer research is performed.

Let’s Talk Cancer originated in Toronto and has since been brought to Hamilton by Alyssa Vito.

Vito, a Health Sciences PhD student working in the lab of Dr. Karen Mossman, is the chair of the Canadian Cancer Society’s Research Information Outreach Team (RIOT). Vito was the guest speaker at Let’s Talk Cancer 2017 in Toronto and took the initiative to start a RIOT program in Hamilton to educate the city’s future leaders.

The event is run collaboratively between Let’s Talk Science and the Canadian Cancer Society’s Research Information Outreach Team (RIOT). It is an annual event put on across Canada at multiple sites.