Cancer Awareness Activities

NCI Launches Risk Assessment Website
In observance of April as "Cancer Control Month," the NCI has launched a website devoted to cancer risk assessment -- understanding risk -- which provides interactive tools to help people assess and understand their risk of developing cancer, along with specific information on how to lower risk for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, prostate, and skin cancer. Resources convey the messages that advances in prevention, early detection, and treatment have improved cancer outcomes, and that behavioral changes can help reduce the risk for developing some types of disease.  Interactive features include quizzes to test readers' understanding of cancer risk.  The new site also contains a section on analyzing news stories about cancer to help people determine the accuracy and applicability of findings reported in the media and online.

Caring Hands Project Training
United and Active Women, formed in 1990, is a grassroots Latina immigrant women’s community organization and empowerment program with offices in San Francisco and Oakland.  The Caring Hands Workers’ Association and Economic Development Project, is a program of United and Active Women designed to help low-income Latina immigrants achieve better jobs and economic security as home health care providers.  An understanding of illnesses, the health care system, patient care, and workers’ rights are included as part of the Caring Hands annual intensive employment training.  Graduates form the Workers’ Association receive assistance with job placements. 

The Community Liaison Core of the Center for Aging in Diverse Communities collaborated with two 4 hour-workshops during this year’s training.  The first workshop“Human Anatomy and Physiology”, on April 30, provided the participants with educational content, a written booklet and an opportunity to address many issues of this topic.  The second 4-hour workshop, on May 7, was titled: “Cancer and Other Health Conditions and Diseases Related to Aging”.  This topic was provided in collaboration and sponsorship of “Redes en Acción”.  Educational materials about cancer and aging issues were distributed.

“Sobrevivir: Una Colaborativa Comunitaria Contra el Cáncer”
Survivorship: A Community Collaborative Against Cancer

In early 2005, Molly Bergstrom, Latina Outreach & Education Coordinator, Women’s Cancer Resource Center and Shirley McGrath, Patient Services Manager, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, met to discuss the need for and possibility of planning culturally and linguistically appropriate cancer education programs for Spanish-speaking cancer patients in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Many Latinos in the Bay Areas are uninsured or under-insured, and in spite of a growing population of Latinos, there are limited bi-lingual health care professionals are available.  After their first meeting, they decided that to effectively address the needs of Latinos with cancer in the San Francisco Bay Area, it would require a team of collaborating agencies.  The first meeting of the collaboration took place on February 3, 2005 at the Northern California Cancer Center in Fremont, California.

Since then, the collaborative has grown to 13 individual members representing 10 local and national non-profit agencies—American Cancer Society, CIS Partnership, Community Health Partnership, Ethnic Health Institute, Latina Breast Health Project Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Latinas Contra Cáncer, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Northern California Cancer Center, Tiburcio Vasquez Health Clinic and Women’s Cancer Resource Center.

First taking place in San Jose in April, 2005, and then in Oakland in May, 2005, the Sobrevivir Collaboration’s first workshop was entitled, “Communicating with your Health Care Team.”  Latino cancer patients, as well as their friends and family, had the opportunity to hear from an oncology nurse/doctor, a social worker and a hospital translator.  The final speaker introduced the participants to community resources, from which they could greatly benefit. 

The Sobrevivir Collaborative has committed to continuing the series of cancer education workshops in San Jose and Oakland, and will be coordinating eight more in the coming year.  Future topics include Nutrition and Cancer, the Truth about Cancer, Side-Effects of Cancer Treatment, and Where to Look for Treatment:  Responsibilities of your Health Care Team.

Redes en Accion has been cooperating with the Sobrevivir Collaborative and Marynieves Diaz-Mendez, Redes Outreach Coordinator, who has developed and delivered educational talks during the first workshop in San Jose in April 2005 and also at the October 2005 workshop in Union City.  Redes's upcoming educational talk will be delivered in San Jose on December the 10th, 2005.