Affiliated Community Health Foundation – Project Title: Women’s Breast Cancer Awareness Outreach. The Women’s Breast Cancer Awareness Outreach Year 2 project will increase breast cancer awareness/prevention through education/screening services for underserved women in the following eleven Minnesota counties: Big Stone, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Lyon, Meeker, Pope, Redwood, Renville, Swift and Yellow Medicine. Almost 52% of eligible women in this region do not receive regular mammograms. Outreach and various promotion activities in each community will serve to increase the number of women getting mammograms and clinical breast exams. The project will focus on women who are not aware of breast cancer screening services, have insurance with large deductibles that discourage preventive care, are new immigrants to the region, are elderly with finance and/or transportation issues acting as a barrier, and others who for a variety of reasons do not receive breast cancer screening services. The project message is “Breast Cancer Screening Saves Lives.” Grant Award $93,831.00
Angel Foundation – Project Title: Financial Assistance Program. Funding will be used to provide 66 emergency non-medical financial assistance grants (rent/mortgage, grocery, gas/bus cards, utility payments) to qualifying breast cancer survivors in Minnesota, including women of color, lesbians, and other underserved women in need. Breast cancer patients have typically comprised the majority of financial applicants and also are most likely to attend the family focused educational programs that place special focus on children 4 – 18 whose parent has cancer. Grant Award $50,000.00
Duluth Clinic Breast Health Center – Project Title: Digital Mammography. Funding will be used to provide digital mammography in northeastern Minnesota. Digital mammography improves testing accuracy for certain patients, provides faster results, reduces overall exposure to radiation, and coordinates with a patient’s electronic health record. The added capacity will allow the Duluth Clinic Breast Health Center to serve more patients in northeastern Minnesota, including underserved populations. Grant Award $100,000.00
Health & Education Association for Development – Project Title: Be Aware of Breast Lump “Ka Digtoonow Kurxinta Naaska." The grant will be used to increase breast cancer awareness and regular screening in Somali women through education and outreach activities that respect Somali cultural traditions and understand the important role of social networks for information sharing and gathering; and promote a variety of vehicles including music and poetry, theater and story telling in order to relay health education messages and breast cancer information. Grant Award $40,000.00
Health Education Industry Partnership – Project Title: Deaf Women’s Breast Cancer Initiative. Minnesota is home to the first Community Health Worker (CHW) Program for Deaf Americans. The program director is a 23-year breast cancer survivor, hospice volunteer and founder of the “Pink Deafies,” the sole support group for Deaf women in the country. Deaf people must depend on their sense of sight to create mental images to help them learn, understand and retain information. Their language, American Sign Language, has no linguistic connection to English, average reading levels remain at 3rd-4th grade, and there is no written form of their language. Using storytelling however, the literature of the culture, particularly life stories, provides the optimum learning environment, allowing individuals to connect life experiences to factual information. This learning process not only is prerequisite for this unique linguistic group but also increases interest and attendance, thereby providing the foundation for a successful intervention. Funding will support a documentary about the personal journey of the members of the “Pink Deafies.” It will also provide an educational and outreach tool for the Community Health Worker and provide hearing viewers with a glimpse into the Deaf-World and the daily challenges Deaf women face in the healthcare setting. The film will follow the “Pink Deafies” through some of the activities of this grass-roots, culturally adapted “support group,” including their fifth Race for the Cure. Grant Award $79,758.00
Hennepin County Medical Center – Project Title: Mammography Equipment Replacement. Funds will be used to replace the mammography equipment that is used at the Family Medical Clinic. This equipment will allow the Family Medical Center to continue to provide mammography services at this location (5 West Lake Street) for patients at this site as well as Hennepin Family Care-East. The Family Medicine Clinic provides primary care to an economically disadvantaged inner city population in south Minneapolis. The Clinic is the largest safety net provider located in the Powderhorn community. Grant Award $100,000.00
Humphrey Cancer Center – Project Title: Optimizing Care for Breast Cancer Patients at Risk for Hereditary Cancers. Through a grant provided by the MN Affiliate in 2006, the genetic counselors and physicians in the Cancer Center were able to identify and help breast cancer patients and their families who are at risk for hereditary cancer. Through this project, they developed a family history questionnaire, computer program, and clinic practices. They were able to identify a number of women with a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and helped these women and their families to take steps to prevent cancer. Additional funds are being requested to improve this clinical effort. The Cancer Center plans to modify and further automate the questionnaire and computer program, and to optimize their use in the clinic, to make certain that all of the patients who need genetic counseling receive this life-saving service. They will pilot a questionnaire for use by women without cancer who come to outpatient centers for mammograms. Through this project, the Cancer Center will immediately help the patients and their families to prevent cancer, and will also perfect the questionnaire and clinical support systems so that they can be used in other clinical settings. Grant Award $100,000.00
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe – Project Title: “New Beginnings” Project. Current studies show Native American Women living on the Leech Lake Reservation, in the Bemidji Indian Health Service Area, have a higher breast cancer death rate than is seen in the general population of the United States. The “New Beginnings Project” will insure that the Women of the Leech lake Reservation will receive breast health education, screening exams, breast cancer mammography imaging referrals, and patient case management services. The project’s purpose is to encourage Native American women 16-40 years old to break down cultural barriers through education, develop routine breast care practices to participate in regular clinical breast exams and to promote a change in cultural practices regarding preventative health. In addition, the project will focus on women 40-60 years old in remote areas of the reservation who, due to lack of transportation, do not seek screening. Native American Women will benefit from this project through being given the opportunity to receive medical education that will allow them to make informed choices about their health while respecting cultural beliefs. With this funding, a “New Beginning” will now be available to provide the rural outreach screening and care necessary to improve the life of all women they serve. Grant Award $68,946.00
Minnesota Department of Health – Project Title: Breast Cancer Screening Outreach through Metro Transit Buses and Bus Shelters. Funding will be used to increase the number of medically underserved women who access the Minnesota Department of Health’s Sage Screening Program (Sage). Sage provides free clinical breast exams and mammograms to over 15,600 low and moderate-income women, with little or no health insurance each year. Many program eligible women do not receive these life-saving tests because they are simply unaware of Sage. The funds will pay for Sage poster advertisements to be placed in 150-180 city buses and 15 bus shelters. The advertisements will promote Sage’s free breast cancer screening services on demographically targeted bus routes servicing North Minneapolis, downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. Grant Award $44,000.00
Minnesota International Health Volunteers – Project Title: Somali Women’s Breast Cancer Project. The MN Affiliate provided a grant in 2006 for this project. Since the collapse of the Somali government and the ensuing civil war in 1991, many Somalis fled their home country and were awarded refugee status in the United States. Minnesota is now the “Somali capital of the U.S.,” with population estimates ranging from 25,000-60,000. In addition to dealing with the trauma and stress of civil war and resettlement, Somalis face many challenges as they settle in Minnesota such as accessing health care. Many Somali women are not aware of breast cancer, the risk factors associated with the disease and the options that are open to them in terms of prevention and screening. The Somali Women’s Breast Cancer Project will reduce breast health disparities among Somali women in the Twin Cities through a combination of educational outreach, breast cancer screening, and referrals for treatment. Trained Somali Community Health Workers will increase knowledge about the disease as well as ensure that women 40 and above receive mammograms on an annual basis. Grant Award $100,000.00
Open Arms of Minnesota – Project Title: Nutritious Meals for Women with Breast Cancer, Dependent Children and Caregivers. The Minnesota Affiliate provided a grant in 2006 for this project. Since 1986, Open Arms has prepared and delivered nutritious meals to people living with HIV/AIDS. In 2006, Open Arms incorporated its service to women with breast cancer into a permanent programmatic expansion serving nearly 12,900 meals to 78 clients in the first nine months of the MN Affiliate 2006 grant. Open Arms will scale up its service, preparing and delivering approximately 17,500 meals between 125 and 150 women in treatment for breast cancer, along with their children and caregivers. A part-time cook’s position will be extended to full-time. Additional volunteers will be recruited to fill ten new shifts totaling more than 30 hours of additional volunteer help. Open Arms will continue to distribute nutritional supplements to aid clients with weight retention and gain, and “Nausea Care Packs” – non-perishable additions to the meals that assist clients with nausea. Grant Award $78,560.00
Regions Hospital Foundation – Project Title: MRI Biopsy Program. The funds requested would be used to purchase MRI biopsy equipment. MRI is a relatively new and sensitive imaging technique that is excellent at finding many cancers. Using the technology to perform biopsies would increase the likelihood that all cancerous lesions will be examined and treated, improving clinical outcomes and increasing the satisfaction of patients with breast cancer. Use of the technology will in some cases help patients avoid surgery, reducing recovery times and decreasing the cost of their health care. Use of MRI biopsy technologies can be very important for the indigent, the under/uninsured, and minority populations that have a greater chance of being diagnosed with larger tumors and more advanced stages of breast cancer. Grant Award $50,000.00
Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center – Project Title: “Advancing Women’s Health in Rural Wabasha through Education, Screening and Digital Mammography Technology. The medical center has launched an ambitious initiative to advance women’s health in their service area. In partnership with their communities, providers, and agencies, Saint Elizabeth’s is facilitating an educational and fundraising initiative to 1) build a greater awareness for the need and value of early detection in the fight against breast cancer among all women in their service area; 2) secure financial support to improve screening services through the upgrade and advancement of their aging mammography unit to a digital platform; 3) collaborate with SAGE, American Society and the Migrant Council to improve mammography rates among the low-income and minority women in the medical center’s rural service area. Funds received from the Minnesota Affiliate will be used toward the purchase of a digital mammography unit. Grant Award $100,000.00
Vietnamese Social Services of Minnesota – Project Title: Southeast Asian Breast Cancer Outreach Project. The Minnesota Affiliate provided a grant in 2006 for this project. Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer among Vietnamese women. But screening rates for Vietnamese women are low because of language and cultural barriers. Vietnamese Social Services has provided breast cancer education and screening access services for Vietnamese women in the Twin Cities for the past five years. More recently, the program expanded its outreach to other underserved groups; Vietnamese women in St. cloud, and Chinese-Vietnamese and Karen women in the Twin Cities (the Karen are an ethnic minority in Myanmar). Funding is requested to help the organization sustain and build on their work with these newer target groups. The project has significant contact with women who have survived breast cancer. Plans are to develop a survivorship project in 2007. Grant Award $39,800.00
Virginia Piper Cancer Institute – Project Title: Improving Identification of BRCA1 and Basal-like Breast Cancer in the Greater Twin Cities. The project will focus on increasing the identification of breast cancer patients with heritable BRCA1 mutations, especially those with poor prognosis basal-like breast cancer subtype. Rather than using traditional screening criteria for genetic testing such as family history and age at diagnosis, they will utilize enhanced pathologic screening techniques to predict BRCA1 status. Because this form of breast cancer is frequently seen in populations with limited access to genetic testing, educational programs, written materials and increased access to testing will be provided. Identification of these BRCA1 kindreds will help prevent breast cancer in the greater Twin Cities. Moreover, identification of patients with basal-like breast cancer will prove important in the future as targeted therapies are developed against this aggressive form of breast cancer. Grant Award $100,000.00
YWCA of Duluth – Project Title: Breast Cancer Advocacy Project. This project, in collaborative partnership with the Women’s Health Center, will provide community outreach and advocacy to bring breast health services to medically underserved women, that include women of color, lesbian women, and women who have no income and/or insurance. The project, housed in the YWCA, conducts outreach to support regular screening, mammography, clinical breast exam and monthly self-examination. The project works to strengthen partnerships with local medical providers and organizations that provide services to low-income and under/uninsured women to reduce barriers that keep women from getting breast cancer screening. Quarterly “Barrier Busting” meetings will be held in collaboration with the Young Survival Coalition to address barriers in accessing regular breast health care with local providers. In addition to this work in reducing barriers with providers, advocacy is provided to women to assist them in navigating the system both in securing breast health care and in medical follow-up services if they are diagnosed with an abnormal result. The Young Survival Coalition members also assist in the advocacy work. Grant Award $30,000.00
Minnesota Department of Health, SAGE Screening Program - The title of the program is Breast Cancer Screening Program. The program provides mammograms to medically underserved women in the state of Minnesota. Grant Award $359,244.00
Minnesota Department of Health, SAGE Screening Program - The program provides direct medical services for secondary breast cancer screening and basic treatment for underserved Minnesotans. Grant Award $181,128.00
Susan G. Komen for the Cure, National Headquarters - Annual payment for Medical Research. Total payment $508,046.48
TOTAL AWARDED $2,223,313.48