A day of insights.
As a follow-up to Women’s Wellness Week, on Thursday 21st June, Lower V and Lower VI visited Imperial College to the Hammersmith Medical Research Centre. This experience enabled girls to seriously consider STEM careers, but also emphasised the importance of being aware of our bodies and wellbeing.
Aditi Jadhav, Lower VI, tells us about the experience:
‘The visit to Imperial College was very insightful. We had a wonderful talk by Professor Seckl, who talked to us about cancer, new developments in its treatment and the ongoing research being carried out by scientists. The talk sparked immense curiosity and a wide range of cancer–related topics such as ‘defining what a cancer cell is’, to ‘how clinical trials are conducted to test the effectiveness of a new drug’ were discussed by the Professor with us. In addition, we were also shown around the labs, where we could see researchers and their equipment in action, working on a broad range of cancerous cells.
The visit also served as an extension to the Women’s Wellness Week we celebrated in school. Mrs Melody Ransome shared the extraordinary experience of her cancer treatment along with Professor Seckl, which addressed the issue of finding the apt treatment for a rare type of cancer and the importance of maintaining a close relationship with your body and mind in order to understand its workings and nuture its wellbeing.
Furthermore, an interesting observation that arose from Women’s Wellness Week, through talks from various professionals such as nutritionists, mid-wives and obstetricians, was how common conditions affecting women’s health are, not only in the UK but also around the globe, ranging from conditions such as thyroid levels to obstetric fistula to ovarian cancer; yet we don’t seem to address or discuss these matters as often or as openly as we should. The visit to the Oncology Department shed light on the commonality of conditions such as cancer and made us more aware of the situations faced by many; thus helping us to evaluate how we, as individuals, can contribute to tackle these issues through STEM careers.’
Categories: Priory Post Senior Sixth Form Whole School
