“From Diagnosis to Survival,” the inaugural event of the Medical Humanities Lecture Series, will be taking place on Wednesday in Higgins Hall, room 310, at 7:30 p.m.
The lecture was organized by Gabriella Taghian, Lynch ’19, and it will feature Christine Song, MCAS ’19, who is a two-time childhood cancer survivor. Song will be joined by Philip J. Landrigan, the director of the Global Public Health Initiative and the Global Observatory on Pollution and Health and BC ’63, and Rosemary F. Byrne, director of the Family Nurse Practitioner Program and BC ’98.
The seminar will cover Song’s diagnosis experience, the cancer treatment process, and her survival. From her childhood perspective, she will be sharing her story of both battling the disease and eventually recovering, in addition to discussing her current understanding of cancer treatment.
Song was first diagnosed with cancer when she was 13 years old. She then beat the disease, only to have it return when she was 16. She received a bone marrow transplant at 17 from her brother that helped her become cancer-free for a second time.
The event will also consider Song’s experience with her medical team and the community around her when she was battling cancer, as well as broader questions regarding the ethics of treating aggressive diseases.
There will also be a Q&A session in which Landrigan and Byrne will offer their expertise on medical cases, treatment processes, and the ethical questions that are often raised along the way, while Song will answer questions about her experience.
Landrigan is a professor of biology, who joined Boston College last summer to lead the University’s new Global Public Health Initiative. The initiative is part of the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, and it will include a new major and minor in global public health.
Byrne, who received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from BC, is a clinical instructor in the Connell School of Nursing. She has focused on underserved communities, particularly those in Central and South America, but has also done extensive work with low-income Bostonians, especially inner-city Hispanic populations.
Featured Image by Jess Rivilis / Heights Staff
