Breast cancer is an important public health problem. The impact of breast screening could be the reduction of 13,800 deaths per year in the United States from breast cancer. This prevention of deaths from breast cancer would have major impact on our society. Yet, in spite of the known value of breast cancer screening, significant segments of the population are not getting regular mammograms. As an example, 42% of African American women compared to 35% of White women have never had a mammography. Income and educational levels also have impact on mammography rates. As a Cancer Center, our efforts must be targeted at the """"""""grass roots level"""""""" to educate women (and men) to be aware that early detection of breast cancer through screening saves lives. We propose to offer a Breast Cancer Education Mini-Summit Conference at our Cancer Center. The goals of this one day conference are to 1) motivate community groups, businesses, and/or health agencies to develop breast cancer education and screening programs; 2) help them make the transition from concept development to fully operational programs; and 3) provide practical knowledge and skills which will help them overcome barriers to program implementation. The target population is representatives of community groups, health agencies, and work organizations that have access to underserved women. Local faculty from the one day conference will be available to the conference participants for ongoing technical assistance to help them make the transition from concept development to program implementation. At Bellevue Hospital, a primary institution of the Kaplan Comprehensive Cancer Center at NYU Medical Center, we provide innovative programs that have been developed in multiple languages to meet the specific needs of the very population given special emphasis in the conference. In this mini-Summit proposal, the Kaplan Center is joining Cancer Care Inc., a freestanding not for profit social service agency that is effective in communicating and providing services to communities of the New York metropolitan area. The 1994 Mini-Summit will reach out to the underserved communities of the New York City metropolitan area, and by paying close attention to specific cultural and community needs, will 1) work with local community and business leaders to educate women about early detection of breast cancer and 2) provide practical knowledge that will lead to the implementation of high quality education and screening programs.
