On Thursday, September 21, 2023, as part of the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research C “Development of survivor support program for the dissemination of cancer education for elementary school children” (Principal Investigator: Noriko Teruya), an external lecturer (Principal: Ichiro Arihama) gave a special cancer education class at Yonaguni Junior High School (Yonaguni, Yaeyama Island), with the aim of spreading cancer education using cancer survivors (Ms. Shino Arakaki) in remote island areas in Okinawa Prefecture.

Currently, the government is promoting cancer education using outside lecturers such as cancer survivors and medical professionals, and Okinawa Prefecture is also promoting such efforts, but the use of outside lecturers in remote island regions is still in its infancy. Therefore, this time, in cooperation with the teacher in charge of health and physical education (Mr. Kenichi Kasahara, vice principal) and the Okinawa Cancer Education Support Center (Representative of the organization: Mr. Ryota Tokumoto), we offered a lesson by a cancer survivor to all 35 students in the school.

Students who attended the class stated, “I learned the importance of early detection through cancer screening and deepened my understanding of cancer patients. They also learned about lifestyle habits such as healthy eating and exercise to reduce the risk of cancer.”

We will continue to support cancer education classes by outside lecturers and train outside lecturers, as providing students with cancer stories from outside lecturers leads to more effective learning about “health care, the importance of life, and understanding of cancer patients”.