[00:00:00] Adam Walker: From Susan G Komen, this is Real Pink. A podcast exploring real stories, struggles, and triumphs related to breast cancer. We’re taking the conversation from the doctor’s office to your living room.
Welcome to another powerful episode of the Komen Health Equity Revolution podcast series. Each month, we invite patients, community organizations, healthcare partners, researchers, and policy advocates to spark conversations about strategies and solutions that drive the health equity revolution forward for multiple populations experiencing breast health inequities. To advance health equity in breast cancer care, Komen believes that everyone should have a just opportunity to be as healthy as possible despite their cultural or demographic background. That’s why Komen is committed to eliminating barriers to care for individuals and communities experiencing breast health inequities now and in the future.
We’re honored to be joined on today’s show by two members of Komen’s Community Health Outreach team, women who drive this important work every day. Natasha Mmeje and Theru Ross are here to share some details of Komen’s good work in breast health equity this year, and what their hopes are for the future.
Natasha and Theru, welcome to the show.
[00:01:23] Natasha Mmeje: Thank you. Thanks for having us.
[00:01:24] Theru Ross: Thanks for having us.
[00:01:26] Adam Walker: Well, we talk about this a lot. We do a lot of different interviews related to this topic, but you’re like driving the work forward. You’re the boots on the ground. So I’m very excited to talk to both of you.
So, to ground us here, can you give us an overview of Susan G. Komen’s commitment to health equity and why it’s such a critical focus area for the organization?
[00:01:51] Natasha Mmeje: Absolutely. I can take that question. Health equity is one of our strategic imperatives, which means it’s one of the most important things, that’s a part of our mission.
So it’s how our mission gets executed, and it’s embedded in everything we do across our 360 degree approach. We have five, key health equity strategies.
Those are education, workforce development, patient support, public policy and research. And so all of these lovers work in concert, they work together to activate and advance health equity here at Komen.
If I’m putting it in simpler terms for you, health equity is everybody’s responsibility here at Komen.
[00:02:38] Adam Walker: I like that. Health equity is every, and it’s probably, I think hopefully extends beyond Komen as well, right? That’s the goal. Well, well beyond. So while we’re talking about it, that’s why we’re talking about it.
All right. So, this year has been a busy one for Komen. What would you say is some of the most impactful health equity work that Komen did in 2024? And can you share some highlights with us?
[00:03:00] Theru Ross: Yes. I’ll take that one. So we’ve had wonderful opportunities to advance health equity work this year. Gabby Natalie, who’s a TV host, author, speaker, she became a Komen ambassador and she shared her breast cancer diagnosis with the world.
And she continues to use her voice to support the Latina community and through voicing the importance of early detection. And then another health equity program that was successful is the Worship in Pink partnership with First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York. And for those that don’t know, Worship and Pink is a breast health education program centered around faith based orgs.
And it aims to improve health outcomes for all with a focus on the Black and Latino populations. And SCVC has been a great partner for a couple of years. And this past October, we were able to host a phenomenal panel with representation from Memorial Sloan Kettering, Health and Her Hughe, and Cornell.
We hosted this panel at the church, which focused on the importance of diverse representation in healthcare and research.
[00:04:19] Adam Walker: I love that. I love that. Sounds like you’ve been busy. Natasha, what were you going to say?
[00:04:23] Natasha Mmeje: Yeah, I’m, speaking of research, another important point of pride for the work that we’ve done this year is the establishment of the Share for Cures Alliance.
So Share for Cures is Komen’s breast cancer registry, and it was built to be inclusive of every person, no matter, or every person who’s had or has breast cancer, regardless of who they are and where they live. So to diversify the data that is collected and increase reach, we partnered with other nonprofit organizations who share the goal of helping to accelerate and finding cures for breast cancer.
So we have partnered with some really amazing organizations. And you’ll, see, you’ll hear partnerships being something that’s pretty important for the work that we’ve done around health equity this year.
[00:05:11] Adam Walker: It sounds like you’ve had a busy year. I love that. That’s important.
Okay. So, then looking back, at the busy year, what lessons do you feel Komen has learned about driving health equity forward that will inform your, your approach for next year?
[00:05:28] Theru Ross: Yeah. Driving health equity, it takes a consistent and strategic approach in order to move the needle.
And so this year we really laid into the strength of our partnerships as you could probably tell from just listening to Natasha and I speak that, there are many breast cancer and cancer in general organizations who are all working to remove these barriers to care for people and communities experiencing those health inequities.
We’re all stronger and can make a bigger impact when we work together in true collaboration and partnership. And so that’s something that we definitely want to continue and will continue.
[00:06:10] Adam Walker: That’s great. That’s great. And Natasha, any thoughts from you on that one?
[00:06:14] Natasha Mmeje: No, just echoing with what Theru said, I think, to your point, when we talk about health equity, Komen manages a small piece of that pie.
Health equity is everyone’s job, whether we’re inside Komen or outside. And I think just making sure we’re all working together, because we all are experts in our own fields, areas and putting all those things together. It just makes it stronger.
[00:06:43] Adam Walker: Oh, that’s right. That’s right. Again, looking back on 2024, is there any particular moment from this year that sort of stands out to you that makes you proud to be a part of the Komen team?
[00:06:57] Theru Ross: And now I’ll go first. It’s hard to just pinpoint one moment, but I can just say this past June, was our annual health, annual advocacy summit in D. C. where we also host a session called Speak Truth to Power, which creates a space for discussion about, an advocacy for the population in this country that experiences the most breast cancer disparities, no surprise, black women.
And so having the opportunity to go out to D. C. and be around other community people who have, who are advocates and people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer who live, I’m in Georgia, so who live in Georgia and being around those women and listening to them, being able to meet the law, legislators, lawmakers, right here in Georgia and tell their story in hopes of gaining support.
That was just a powerful event and it just re- It gives me motivation to keep doing the work that I do.
[00:08:07] Natasha Mmeje: I agree. I think we picked the same thing, Theru, as point of pride, something that I was really excited to be a part of; that advocacy summit is something special because, as you mentioned, Theru and I are boots on the ground, just like a lot of our other staff members here at Komen who are doing this work.
But there is something to be said about policy and shifting lawmakers minds to really Lean in to create more access and remove barriers for people who really need care. I’ll say here too that I think a lot of our policy wins are something that are important to mention both statewide and from a federal level, we’ve done some really great work here at Komen with regard to our state policy. I know that Komen is led and supported state and federal legislation that have directly addressed barriers to care. And that’s something that is very important for the work we’ve done in 2024 to address financial barriers to accessing needed breast imaging.
That can often lead to later stage diagnosis. So that’s why it’s important to address it. Komen led the introduction and the passage of that legislation on a state level, which was huge. And then on a federal level, Komen has supported safety net programming, access and afford affordability of insurance, improved access to clinical trials and access to care. So there’s been a lot.
[00:09:39] Adam Walker: Wow. Okay. And so now we’ve looked back, right? Let’s look forward. So as we move into 2025, what are your hopes for the future of health equity in breast cancer care? And how is Komen preparing to build on, next year into a success?
[00:09:57] Natasha Mmeje: Sure. I’ll, take this one too. So as our country prepares, for the shift in administration, I know there may be some uneasiness about how people are proceeding, but I want to say Komen’s mission is focused on conquering aggressive forms of breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer and to achieve health equity.
We are unwavering in our efforts to advance health equity and I think now more than ever we must continue to believe that every person should have a just opportunity to be as healthy as possible, despite their cultural or their demographic backgrounds. So that’s, one piece that’s really important.
And Adam, if it’s okay, I’d like to do a selfish, maybe not so selfish plug.
[00:10:46] Adam Walker: Yeah, do it. Good. Go for it.
[00:10:48] Natasha Mmeje: So we hope that she’ll join us on March 6th, 2025. That will be our 2nd annual health equity summit. So we’re speaking about health equity, we will have this wonderful summit that will be focused on the transformative power of access and we invite health care providers, industry professionals, patient advocacy orgs, and patient advocates to register. You might remember that in 2021, Komen released a report called Closing the Breast Cancer Gap, a Roadmap to Save the Lives of Black Women in America. Well, here’s a spoiler alert, an update about the work that we’ve done and the data will be provided during the Health Equity Summit.
So I know folks don’t want to miss that. I just wanted to let folks know.
[00:11:37] Adam Walker: Yeah, I appreciate you sharing. You said March 6th, right? March 6th.
[00:11:40] Natasha Mmeje: That’s right.
[00:11:41] Adam Walker: Okay. I love it. Where would people go to get more information about that?
[00:11:46] Natasha Mmeje: You can go to Komen.org and find more information there.
[00:11:49] Adam Walker: All right. I like that. And, last question and maybe some final thoughts if you care to share them, how can listeners support Komen’s health equity initiatives and make a difference in their own communities?
[00:12:04] Theru Ross: Yeah. So in addition to joining us at the health equity summit, which I think was a perfect plug at the right moment,
you can also, just educate yourself on breast health disparities nationally and where you live. So figure out those barriers that some people in populations face and just join us to advance health equity. So you can do this by, one thing you can do is become an advocacy insider. We talked about our advocacy summit that we enjoyed back in June were a way to start that journey is to be an Advocacy Insider where you can help advance public policy efforts in your state or even at the federal legislation. And so to do that, it’s very simple. You could just text Komen to 40649. And then also take a look at our closing the breast cancer gap report and our stand for her impact report.
And you can find both of those on komen.org/healthequity. And so engage with our health equity revolution channels on Facebook, Instagram. We post great content there and definitely be sure to follow us.
[00:13:25] Adam Walker: That’s great advice. Natasha, any thoughts from you?
[00:13:29] Natasha Mmeje: Nope. What Theru said.
[00:13:31] Adam Walker: I love it. I love it.
Well, ladies, thank you. Genuinely, thank you for the work that you’re doing. It’s so important. That’s why we’re talking about it so much on the podcast. And you’re the boots on the ground and you’re doing amazing, work and we, appreciate it.
[00:13:47] Natasha Mmeje: Thank you.
[00:13:48] Theru Ross: Thanks.
[00:13:49] Adam Walker: And thank you for joining another episode of the Komen Health Equity Revolution podcast series.
We will continue to galvanize the breast cancer community to support multiple populations experiencing breast health inequities to advance and achieve breast
health equity for all. Because ending breast cancer needs all of us. To learn more about health equity at Susan G Komen, please visit Komen.org/healthequity.
And if you need resources and support, please contact the Komen patient care hotline at 1 877 465 6636 or email helpline@Komen.org. Thanks to Merck for supporting the Real Pink podcast.
Thanks for listening to Real Pink, a weekly podcast by Susan G Komen. For more episodes, visit realpink.komen.org. For more on breast cancer, visit komen.org. Make sure to check out @SusanGKomen on social media. I’m your host Adam. You can find me on Twitter @AJWalker or on my blog adamjwalker.com.