Project Title: Advocating for Mandatory Mammograms and a Lower Mammogram Screening Age
BASIS Advisor: Dr. Murthy
Internship Location: UC Berkeley
Onsite Mentor: Ms. Katrina Le
The age for required mammogram screening tests for women is a controversial topic between medical practitioners and associations. The main goal of my project is to advocate to Congress and the general public for mandatory mammograms for women at a higher risk of developing breast cancer and reduce the mammogram screening age to forty years for all women. I will be analyzing the data from websites of organizations like the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, and doing a statistical analysis on the data. This will help me determine at what ages women get breast cancer and how many get it in their twenties and later. I will use the compiled data analysis to build a convincing argument to advocate for mandatory mammograms and a lower mammogram screening age. With the help of my external or onsite advisor at UC Berkeley, I will learn how to advocate for mandatory and earlier mammogram screening tests. Breast cancer is a disease that can affect anyone at any age. Mammograms do not prevent breast cancer, but they can definitely save lives, as early detection is the key to survival. Early detection of breast cancers means localized cancers can more likely be removed without resorting to breast removals or mastectomies.
My Posts
Week 12: thx for following my journey?!
May 13, 2019
Hey guys! Last week!!!! So, this week, I had a practice presentation, finished up my poster, and made some changes to my presentation slides. That’s it!
Week 11: More presentation stuff
May 07, 2019
Hey guys! Well … there isn’t much to update you guys with. I’ve been working on my presentation this week. I had a practice presentation in front of a freshman class on Friday (it went pretty well i think) and I have another presentation tomorrow. This coming week I will be working on my final […]
Week 10: Done!
Apr 28, 2019
Hey guys! I’m officially done with my internship!!! So, this week was pretty chill. I worked on my Senior Project presentation slides. I’ve finished my slide set (just need to make a few more corrections) and now I’m just working on the actual presenting part. Next week, I will be working on my final product, […]
Week 9: A Hectic Week
Apr 21, 2019
What’s up my dudesss?!!!! Although this week was pretty hectic, it was also one of the BEST!!! I got to the opportunity to have a congressional meeting with Congresswoman Pelosi’s Chief of Staff, Dan Bernal, at her San Francisco office. Before the congressional meeting this Wednesday, my Partners in Health: Engage members and I met […]
Week 8: We Have a Meeting Ladies and Gentlemen!
Apr 14, 2019
What’s up guys! So the beginning of this week started off a bit rocky when it came to setting up a congressional meeting with Ro Khanna. I hadn’t gotten an email response from Congressman Khanna’s Office to confirm a meeting (I was getting a bit worried here but it’s ok). I didn’t know what to […]
Week 7: Calling the Office!
Apr 07, 2019
Hey guys! So this week, I focused on calling Congressman Ro Khanna’s Santa Clara office. After sending an email, it is important to follow-up with a call. I ran into some problems here (ugghhh). On Tuesday, I called the Santa Clara office to make sure everything was on track for an upcoming congressional meeting. When […]
Week 6: Surveys and Emails
Mar 31, 2019
Hey guys! So this week, I focused on two things: finishing a survey and emailing Congressman Ro Khanna. In my last blog, I explained who my survey is targeted to, what it consists, and why I made one in the first place (go check out my last blog post if you haven’t already!). I had […]
Week 5: Making a Difference?
Mar 24, 2019
Hey guys! This week was catered towards creating surveys. My surveys are targeted to the general public. They give me a better understanding of how the average Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, and Fremont cities’ constituents feel about lowering the breast cancer screening age. My surveys not only allow me to obtain people’s opinions on the […]
Week 4: Getting Ready For Congressional Meetings!!!
Mar 17, 2019
Hey guys! So this week, I focused on my letters to the editors, once again, and my congressional meeting notes. Writing letters has definitely helped my advocacy skills and I will continue to write as many as I can over the coming weeks. Since I have a congressional meeting coming up in a couple weeks, […]
Week 3: Making Progress!!!
Mar 10, 2019
Hey guys! This week, I continued to focus on my letters to the editors. Before I go into what letter I wrote, I thought I would explain what a letter to the editor is and what is needed to write a good letter. What is a letter to the editor? A letter to the editor […]
Week 2: Collecting Data, Writing Letters to the Editors, and Preparing for Congressional Meetings
Mar 04, 2019
What Does the Advocacy Division Do? Hey guys! Thanks for coming back this week! Part of my project requires me to analyze data from websites, like the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. So, this week I got internet access to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) database. The database includes […]
Week 1: YES to Lowering the Mammogram Screening Age!
Feb 16, 2019
The age for required mammogram screening tests for women is a controversial topic between medical practitioners and associations. The main goal of my project is to advocate to Congress and the general public to reduce the mammogram screening age to forty years for all women (made a slight change). I will be analyzing the data […]