MSJ RFL & SeroMed Host Hands-on Cancer Workshop

By Staff Writers Aarav Vashisht & Ariana Yi

Aiming to raise cancer awareness and promote medical literacy through collaborative effort, MSJ Relay For Life and MSJ SeroMed co-hosted an interactive, hands-on Cancer Workshop at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 7 in the Flex Room. The event featured various cancer-related educational activities and games, synthesizing learning with excitement.

Participants lined up excitedly outside the Flex Room, awaiting entrance to the lively space. Students were divided into small clusters of three to four people to rotate through the interactive stations. The workshop was meticulously planned, with officers from both organizations stationed at each stop, guiding participants through various medical, educational, and service-based activities. Each station presented unique opportunities for attendees to engage in medicine and cancer-related health activities.

At one station, officers taught students the basics of vital signs, how to measure their heart rate and pulse using specialized machines, and the importance of monitoring these signs in disease detection. Later, students participated in a unique version of the game Mafia, where they were assigned roles as healthy or sick cells. Players attempted to reveal each other’s identities using factual hints provided by each person, which correlated to the activities of their assigned cell. 

Afterward, students were handed items from first aid kits and immersed in a hands-on emergency response challenge. Guided by the officers at the station, participants practiced first aid procedures on their partners, learning the skills necessary to execute the procedure correctly and quickly. Laughter and determination filled the room as students wrapped gauze and bandages around their group members, hopeful for a record time. The competitive spirit continued at the Cancer Jeopardy station, where teams competed to test their knowledge on cancer-related topics. 

Beyond medical activities, the event included creative expression and community service opportunities. Participants were given colorful paper, markers, and stickers to create heartfelt cards and paper cranes for cancer patients at Washington Hospital. A sense of warmth, unity, and shared purpose remained preeminent throughout the event. “RFL’s goals align with what we’re doing here — spreading awareness for cancers … We thought we could [collaborate]… as a medical club and teach other students about cancer,” MSJ SeroMed President Senior Kavy Patel said.

As the event wrapped up, students were left with a takeaway in cancer medical awareness and crafts in arms. The event left a lasting impression on attendees because of its educational value as well as its cooperative and empathetic atmosphere. MSJ Relay For Life and MSJ SeroMed officers spent several weeks planning this event, facing numerous obstacles such as timing and location. With this event they hope to have a profound and lasting impact on the MSJ community. “We hope that they’ll learn something new that they might not have known [before], whether it’s about research, medicine, or making an impact,” MSJ RFL Lead Sanaa Singh said.

 With its blend of medical exploration, real-world application, and heartfelt community service, the workshop conveyed that learning opportunities are not limited to conventional classroom traditions. It created meaningful exchanges that resonated far beyond the school day, offering a vibrant mix of medicine, play, and purpose.