A Campeona is a Latina age 40 and over who shares her own story of getting screened for breast cancer with friends and family to encourage them to do the same. Because screening has not increased as much for Latinas as for women of other ethnic or racial backgrounds, the Foundation put together a team to design, develop, pilot test and implement the Campeonas project to help address this health disparity. The project is a culturally appropriate, informal outreach effort to friends and family to increase breast-cancer screening in the Latina community. The Campeonas training and free-standing community educational materials in both Spanish and English are available at no cost on the Foundation’s website for community organizations. One of these materials is a novela entitled Un encuentro oportuno: conversando sobre el cáncer de seno (“A Timely Encounter: Talking about Breast Cancer”) which uses pictures and a story to share information about breast-cancer screening.

The part of the Campeonas story I want to share is about the people, dedicated to the Latina community and to cancer prevention and early detection, who came together to make the project happen: the ¡Celebremos la vida! staff and volunteers at the Spanish Catholic Center in Washington, DC, and the McCarrick Center in Silver Spring, MD; the community volunteers on the advisory committee; the Washington, DC, metro community which made in-kind contributions; supportive colleagues across the Foundation; the Latinas who participated in formative research; the 22 Campeonas trained in pilot tests; and the project team of professionals with complementary skill sets, who saw the project through to its completion.

A Campeona shares her breast-cancer screening story with DC Latinas.

Many who worked on the project have been personally touched by cancer. Two members of the advisory committee were breast-cancer survivors; we all felt the loss when Elizabeth passed away midway through the project. On the project team, the designers and trainers Mary Jo and Gloria are both breast-cancer survivors. Project manager Suzette was diagnosed with cancer as she joined the team and went through chemotherapy as the project neared completion. The three of them often shared experiences of their illnesses and treatments and their gratitude for life and family. The support affected the whole team and made the project more real and meaningful for all. We know how much it means to save a life and Stop Cancer Before it Starts!

I end this blog with the Campeonas themselves. They gathered with the project team in October to share their stories of conversations about screening with their friends and family at home, at the laundromat and at church. They also talked of the strength they had found in themselves: as Campeonas, they felt empowered and confident to take on a health-affirming role with their loved ones. I am honored to be a part of this amazing new program and look forward to the progress that we will make in the new year.

The warmest of holiday wishes to all, ¡y amor, paz y mucha felicidad en el año nuevo!

Through tributes, the Prevent Cancer Foundation helps individuals fight back against a disease that has affected the lives of so many loved ones. The Prevent Cancer Foundation is saving lives through cancer prevention and early detection. Tribute gifts help us to fulfill our vision to “Stop Cancer Before It Starts!”

Every penny, every nickel, and every dollar counts! Tribute gifts, large and small, have helped raise more than $1 million dollars over the last ten years for cancer prevention and early detection research and programming. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, allowing your child to make a tribute gift in honor or memory of a loved one shows them that they can give back and make a difference!

To make a tribute gift in honor or memory of your loved one please visit our donation page.

Gilda’s Club has enlisted the help of many professionals in our tri-county area to offer free educational seminars which include various aspects of preventative care as well as other breast cancer specific lectures. Topics to be presented over the next year will include genetics, treatment and post treatment options, sexuality and breast cancer and psychosocial issues.

Cultivating open dialogues and providing resources to women of color through projects like “Raising the Roof” is vital to reducing breast cancer disparity. The value of a program such as this was evident when at the conclusion of the recent luncheon a member of the audience approached the speaker and explained that she was in fear of being re-diagnosed with breast cancer. She had not realized the free resources available to her including ongoing support groups and educational seminars. She also explained that until that day she had not spoken about her cancer to anyone including her friends that attended the luncheon with her. However, she now felt that she could share this with them and hoped to gain their support as well. She also planned to attend other programs through Gilda’s Club and to no longer be alone in her cancer journey.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation is proud to support the valuable work of Gilda’s Club South Florida.  Read more about the 2011 grantees.

This new initiative, made possible through the Foundation’s 2011 Community Grants program, aims to promote healthy lifestyle choices and nutritional habits among children at risk for obesity, cancer and other diseases. These workbooks will emphasize traditional foods and activities, enabling youth to make more informed and responsible nutritional choices.

Christine DeCourtney, Cancer Program Manager for the ANTHC explains, “Alaska has an abundance of wild healthy foods from the sea, land and plant life. With the Prevent Cancer foundation funding, we can now develop a traditional food guide and activity work book for children to help them learn, in a fun way, about the importance of good nutrition and physical activity.”

This project follows the development and wide distribution of a popular traditional food guide for Alaska native cancer survivors, created three years ago by the ANTHC. Based in Anchorage, the ANTHC will develop and distribute approximately 800 workbooks targeting youth aged 8-10 years old, that emphasize traditional foods and physical activities involved in food gathering and preparation.

The Foundation’s Community Grants program supports local cancer awareness education and screening programs across the United States for all populations, especially underserved communities. The Foundation is proud to support the ANTHC project along with the other FY2011 grantees and their work to provide cancer prevention education and screening to communities across the country.

The Foundation’s Community Grants program supports local cancer awareness education and screening programs across the United States for all populations, especially underserved communities.

In January, the Foundation awarded $85,000 in community grants to nine new recipients from communities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee. Among the supported projects is Cancer Queens! A Cancer Prevention Musical Revue. With performances across Tennessee, the revue features cancer prevention and health promotion messages set to popular music. This program of the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center targets women over the age of 35 and encourages them to make healthy lifestyle choices, including getting screened for cancer.

New this year, are grantees with a focus on preventive health in younger generations. The Skin Cancer Institute at the Arizona Cancer Center educates parents in Tucson on sun safety habits for their babies and themselves through the distribution of sun safety gift bags. Based in Anchorage, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium will promote healthy lifestyle choices and nutritional habits among Alaska native youth at risk for obesity by developing and distributing workbooks that emphasize traditional foods and physical activities involved in food gathering and preparation.

A social networking approach will be used by the Gilda’s Club South Florida to educate African American women in three counties about breast cancer awareness and early detection, as well as encourage participants to share what they learn with others. Two other grantees are focusing on breast cancer education at the local level. The Orange County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in California is providing breast health and cancer education for Hispanic women in an effort to reduce late-stage diagnoses and mortality among this community. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Linda Creed: Fighting Breast Cancer with Heart organization is using established educational programs to educate low-income and underinsured African American and lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.

Turning the Tides on Colorectal and Prostate Cancer will be the focus of the preventive work done by the Gulfcoast South Area Health Education Center, Inc., in Florida. The program will provide colorectal and prostate cancer education to medically underserved Hispanics and African Americans in two counties.  In South Carolina, the Upstate Prostate Cancer Alliance aims to educate African American males about prostate cancer awareness through presentations and survivor testimonials in 12 counties.

Funds from the Foundation will support the Peak Vista Community Health Centers’ annual no-cost skin cancer screening event in May, which emphasizes early detection and prevention education. This valuable program, powered by professionals volunteering their time, will provide 400 individuals with screenings and skin cancer education in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Foundation is proud to support the FY11 grantees and their work to provide cancer prevention education and screening to communities across the country.

Do you know of other innovative community-level programs focused on cancer prevention education and screening? What have you done in your hometown to raise awareness?

Cervical cancer has become the ultimate preventable cancer success story. The Pap test, developed in the late 1920s and first widely used in the 1940s, was adopted as an essential screening tool for early detection and treatment, and in turn lowered the cervical cancer mortality rate by over 70%. More recently, another leap in cervical cancer prevention was made possible with the development of the HPV vaccine.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation is proud to have played an important role in making cervical cancer preventable through funding cutting edge research, educating the public and supporting community outreach programs. Cervical cancer has always been a priority for the Foundation, having been among the first to fund the research of Dr. Anna R. Giuliano, which led to the development of the HPV vaccine. Among the many other cervical cancer researchers we have funded over the past 25 years, the Foundation recently provided a two year grant to Dr. Subhashini Jagu, whose research is focused on developing a low cost HPV vaccine for global use.

Women don’t have to die from cervical cancer, but unfortunately some still do. Cervical cancer remains a leading cause of death among women around the world. In the United States, Hispanic women currently have the highest risk of developing cervical cancer. In 1994, the Prevent Cancer Foundation in partnership with Georgetown University Hospital/Lombardi Cancer Center, the George Washington Cancer Center and the Spanish Catholic Center, created ¡Celebremos la Vida! (Let’s Celebrate Life!), a community outreach program dedicated to providing culturally appropriate cancer-related services to medically underserved Hispanic women. ¡Celebremos! offers both breast and cervical cancer education and screening – providing well over 6,000 Pap tests since its inception. The program also works to ensure that women who need additional medical care are able to receive it, regardless of their financial status. The Foundation also supports Con Amor Aprendemos (With Love We Learn), a community program that works to directly reduce HPV-related diseases in the Hispanic community in Atlanta, Ga. In the area of public education, the Foundation launched the “Confess! Cervical Cancer Awareness Campaign”  to educate all young women about early detection and prevention of cervical cancer. The interactive Web site is designed to increase awareness and encourages women to pledge to get screened for cervical cancer.

We want all women to take advantage of the advancements made in cervical health. Pap tests are essential every two to three years if you are over 21 years old, and the HPV vaccine is highly recommended if you are between 9 and 26 years old. I strongly urge every woman to learn the facts about cervical cancer and talk to her health care professional.

On behalf of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, I wish you a happy – and healthy – 2011!

Following up on last week’s post about the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s nomination as a City Finalist for the StayClassy Charity of the Year Award for its continuing support of the ¡Celebremos la vida! program, the Foundation would like to share a wonderful story sent to us by Mary Wozniak, MPH, Celebremos  Program Coordinator at the Spanish Catholic Center in Washington, DC. In her own words, Mary tells the story of “Mrs. M.,” a Celebremos patient:    

Mrs.  M., a 44 year old patient, came to the Spanish Catholic Center for her annual checkup and Pap smear in April. The doctor counseled her about her risk of breast cancer, and the benefits and risks of getting a screening mammogram. The patient made an informed decision with her physician to have a screening mammogram. She was referred to the ¡Celebremos la vida! program for her mammogram, through the George Washington Mammovan. As she did not have medical insurance, and is low-income, she may not have been able to obtain a screening mammogram and pap smear without this program.

During the mammogram visit, she received culturally appropriate education in Spanish from the ¡Celebremos la vida! Coordinator about cancer screenings and how to reduce her risk of cancer. Her mammogram came back abnormal, and she had additional mammogram views at the George Washington Hospital. When that mammogram came back suspicious for cancer, the Celebremos Coordinator assisted Mrs. M. in obtaining medical insurance to cover the cost of a biopsy. The Coordinator assisted the patient every step of the way, by explaining test results and procedures, filling out forms in English, scheduling appointments, and providing emotional support to the patient and her husband.

Mrs.  M.  was referred to a bilingual surgeon who recommended breast surgery. The patient has received her surgery last week, which went smoothly. She is pending the pathology results. Mrs. M. called the Celebremos Coordinator the day after her surgery to thank the Spanish Catholic Center for all the assistance and compassion they offered her throughout the process. The Celebremos Coordinator will continue to follow her closely and navigate her through any necessary follow-up or treatment.

We received this update on September 21, 2010:
I spoke with Mrs. M. today. Her surgery went smoothly, and confirmed that she does not have cancer.  She is doing very well and is back to work since her breast surgery.  She expressed her gratefulness to the center, the patient navigator and the doctors for all the help they have offered her.  She will have one follow-up mammogram in December to ensure stability, and should be back to routine screening after that.

Mrs. M.’s story reminds us that navigating the health care system can be a very frightening experience, especially when you are not insured or a native English speaker. Celebremos coordinators play a crucial role in providing emotional support and assistance with scheduling appointments, filling out forms and explaining test results.  

To read more about Celebremos and its impact on underserved Hispanic communities, click here.

“Cherokee Nation colorectal cancer data shows a lower incidence as compared to the U.S. and Oklahoma, however, mortality rates are higher. Cherokee data suggests a higher occurrence of late stage diagnosis for this population group. Further, the Cherokee Nation WW Hastings Hospital has a very high demand for colonoscopies.

Education has been a big factor in later stage of diagnosis. Increased educational efforts, with the help of the Prevent Cancer Super Colon exhibit visit funded by the Prevent Cancer Foundation and clinical staff advising patients of screening responsibilities, has helped to inform and encourage eligible patients to discuss screening options with their health care providers.  This in turn has increased demand for screening services. The Cherokee Nation is taking a proactive approach to addressing this demand by increasing partnerships, increasing surgical time and space in performing colonoscopies.

The Foundation’s ¡Celebremos la Vida! program has been providing breast cancer screening and education in the DC metro area for 16 years. This hallmark program has provided over 6,500 screening and diagnostic mammograms to underserved Hispanic women over 40 years old. Project Early Awareness targets younger women, typically 10th to 12th grade high school students. The program is run in partnership with the Howard University Cancer Center. The educational sessions reach young women and men in DC with vital breast health and cancer prevention information and encourage them to share the message of early detection with their relatives and caregivers. The program’s interactive activities include role-play scenarios where the students practice sharing information with others and advocating for their health.

Stemming from the breast cancer work in the DC high schools, the Foundation and Howard University Cancer Center developed breast health education materials for nation-wide use. The Breast Health Education for Young Women facilitator’s guide and DVD are designed for use by group leaders. The guide includes instructions for providing skills-based breast health education to groups of young women. It also contains all necessary forms, sample tests and FAQs to make it easy to implement the program in any setting. The materials can be ordered and the guide can be downloaded for free on the Foundation’s Web site.

Additionally, the Foundation supports breast cancer outreach locally through the George Washington University Mammovan and nationally through the community grants program. To date, the Mammovan has provided over 30,000 mammograms to women in DC, MD and northern VA. Community grantees focused on breast cancer include the St. Thomas Health Clinic providing screening and education to the underserved women in New Orleans and the Washoe Tribal Health Center providing education to American Indian women in Nevada.

The Foundation is committed to increasing breast cancer awareness and screening and researching ways to prevent the disease. Prevent Cancer is proud to support breast cancer programs and provide free materials during the month of October and throughout the year.

What have you done in the month of October or throughout the year to increase breast cancer awareness and screening?

To combat this issue, in 1994, the Prevent Cancer Foundation began ¡Celebremos la Vida!, a culturally relevant, life saving program that provides free breast and cervical cancer education, screening and early detection to medically underserved Hispanic women in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and McHenry County, Illinois.

The hallmark of the Celebremos program is its unique partnerships with faith-based organizations and medical centers such as the Spanish Catholic Center and Georgetown Hospital in the District of Columbia. These partnerships ensure that Hispanic women receive cancer education, resources, follow-up care, emotional support and assistance navigating the complex healthcare system in their native language. As a result of the Celebremos program, hundreds of Hispanic women now feel free to seek information and make life-saving choices that promote wellness for themselves and their families.

In recognition of its development and continuing support of the Celebremos program, the Prevent Cancer Foundation has been selected as a City Finalist for the Stay Classy Charity of the Year Award. You can help recognize this important program by voting for the Prevent Cancer Foundation and then asking your colleagues, friends and family to vote for us as well.

All voting is online and will end on October 22nd so please support the Prevent Cancer Foundation by casting your vote today!