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Patient Insights and Equity Research

Works in partnership with cancer survivors, caregivers, and families to amplify their voices to improve cancer treatment and support. 

Your story helps us learn and find answers.

We use data and research to build better programs to support patients.

We help change rules and how doctors care for people.

We do more than count numbers. We look at how strong and brave people are and how they speak up.

Yet that reality is unjust.
Did you know:

Survivors who receive empowerment-based support show higher long-term engagement in follow-up care. (Maunsell et al., 2014)
Culturally grounded interventions that affirm identity increase motivation, adherence, and self-advocacy. (Garza et al., 2022)
Strong patient-provider communication leads to significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression among Black survivors. (Lake et al., 2022)

Programs integrating advocacy, navigation, and empowerment help survivors thrive beyond treatment by improving overall well-being. (Whitehead & Hearn, 2015)
Survivors who are supported in asking questions and expressing their needs report greater trust and confidence in their care. (Sheppard et al., 2014)
Survivor-advocates contribute to policy, research, and system-level change, shaping more equitable cancer care. (Ashing et al., 2014)

When Black women are centered as co-designers of interventions, program outcomes are more effective, culturally aligned, and sustainable. (Hailu et al., 2025)
Black women engaged in culturally tailored survivorship programs demonstrate improved emotional well-being and reduced distress. (Whitehead & Hearn, 2015)
Community support services significantly increase patients’ sense of control and empowerment across survivorship. (Lauzier et al., 2014)

Advocacy training increases breast cancer knowledge by 25% among Black women. (Karmo et al., 2024)
Culturally rooted peer support groups offer five layers of support: emotional, social, spiritual, informational, and financial. (Ashing-Giwa et al., 2012)
Many survivors describe the Strong Black Woman identity not only as a burden but also as a source of strength, purpose, and persistence. (Denyse et al., 2023)