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TOPIC: Making Strides Walk - American Cancer Society · Pittsburgh Sunday Morning

0:11
Speaker 1: And welcome in. Good morning. This is a public affairs
0:13
Speaker 1: program shedding the light on the interests, issues, and concerns
0:16
Speaker 1: of the greater Pittsburgh area. My name is Johnny Hartwell,
0:18
Speaker 1: your host. Today, we're going to be talking about the
0:21
Speaker 1: American Cancer Society's Making Strides Walk, which is coming up
0:24
Speaker 1: on October 18th at Acresure Stadium. There's other Making Strides Walks,
0:28
Speaker 1: and we'll get into that. But a couple of volunteers
0:31
Speaker 1: from ACS. Ladies, good to see you again. We have
0:34
Speaker 1: Peg Quinn Rosenzweig and Julie Sencheck. Ladies, thank you for
0:38
Speaker 1: stopping by. Good to see you again. How are you?
0:40
Speaker 2: Good morning, Johnny. Thank you for having us today.
0:44
Speaker 3: We're great. Thanks again for having us. Wonderful to be here.
0:47
Speaker 1: It seems like I just talked to you guys just
0:49
Speaker 1: a couple of months ago, and here it is, October already. October!
0:53
Speaker 1: I know. Where'd summer go? I know. What happened? So anyway,
0:57
Speaker 1: we've got the Making Strides Walk, which is one of
1:00
Speaker 1: their big fundraisers, coming up on October 18th, which will
1:03
Speaker 1: be here before you know it. Let's see here. If
1:06
Speaker 1: you want more information, go to makingstrideswalk.org. slash Greater Pittsburgh.
1:12
Speaker 1: But we'll get into the actual fundraiser here in a
1:16
Speaker 1: few minutes. But let's start with Peg. Both of you
1:19
Speaker 1: have very unique stories. So we'll start with you. You're
1:23
Speaker 1: a professional medical person. So tell us your connection with
1:26
Speaker 1: American Cancer Society.
1:28
Speaker 3: Well, I've been a nurse. I've been a cancer nurse
1:30
Speaker 3: for many, many years. And I started as a staff
1:34
Speaker 3: nurse and then went back to school, became a nurse practitioner.
1:37
Speaker 3: I'm a professor now of nursing at the University of Pittsburgh.
1:42
Speaker 3: And all along that time, I have worked with people
1:46
Speaker 3: with cancer and their families. And now I work in
1:49
Speaker 3: the communities with people with cancer. And there is ongoing
1:54
Speaker 3: support that has been present the entire time that I've
1:57
Speaker 3: been a nurse and that people and families and communities
2:01
Speaker 3: rely on, and that's provided through American Cancer Society. And
2:04
Speaker 3: so in every way throughout my career, I have tried
2:08
Speaker 3: to be support to American Cancer Society and have done
2:12
Speaker 3: that in different ways. And the American Cancer Society has
2:15
Speaker 3: supported me. They helped some scholarships for my education. They
2:20
Speaker 3: have helped in multiple patient programs that we have tried
2:24
Speaker 3: to put on in the community, and then they have
2:26
Speaker 3: individual programming for patients as well. So I feel like,
2:30
Speaker 3: of course, I would be on the board of the
2:33
Speaker 3: American Cancer Society. Anything that I can do to support
2:36
Speaker 3: this organization as they support individuals, families, and communities in Pittsburgh,
2:41
Speaker 3: well worth it.
2:42
Speaker 1: Well, you're both wearing pink, and shame on me, because...
2:46
Speaker 1: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Right. So I didn't
2:49
Speaker 1: get the memo. I'm sorry.
2:50
Speaker 3: We'll help you.
2:53
Speaker 1: Julie, you have a very unique story. So tell us
2:56
Speaker 1: about that.
2:57
Speaker 2: Sure. And just let me say before, Peg, thank you
3:00
Speaker 2: for all you do to help fight breast cancer.
3:02
Speaker 3: You're amazing.
3:02
Speaker 2: And she's truly a cancer-fighting hero, for sure.
3:04
Speaker 3: Thank you. So thanks, Johnny.
3:08
Speaker 2: My goal in life is to, like when I was
3:10
Speaker 2: told you have cancer, I don't want anybody to ever
3:13
Speaker 2: have to hear those words. I'm a breast cancer survivor.
3:16
Speaker 2: I was diagnosed in 2019. I took care of my mom, Beverly,
3:20
Speaker 2: who had breast cancer before. She fought for 12 hard
3:24
Speaker 2: years before she passed away. So I knew a lot
3:27
Speaker 2: about breast cancer and then getting diagnosed with breast cancer
3:30
Speaker 2: was really, really difficult. So my goal in life is for, again,
3:35
Speaker 2: nobody to ever hear the words you have cancer. And
3:37
Speaker 2: I am so passionate about working with the American Cancer
3:40
Speaker 2: Society to help fight cancer and so that we can
3:44
Speaker 2: eliminate it and move forward.
3:46
Speaker 1: All right. Tell me about your story. I mean, when
3:48
Speaker 1: you found out, when you heard those words, you have cancer,
3:51
Speaker 1: it's got to be a shock.
3:52
Speaker 3: Oh, it was a shock.
3:53
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, honestly, it was one of the worst
3:55
Speaker 2: days of my life. It was a few days where
3:59
Speaker 2: I just couldn't even get out of bed and laid
4:02
Speaker 2: on the floor. And then I realized I needed to
4:05
Speaker 2: pick myself up and move on and fight. And so
4:09
Speaker 2: it's really hard to get through. And the great thing
4:11
Speaker 2: about the American Cancer Society is, you don't have to
4:14
Speaker 2: just lay on that floor, right? There are people that
4:16
Speaker 2: can help you. You can reach out for help to
4:19
Speaker 2: get that assistance to help you move forward and be okay.
4:25
Speaker 2: So it's okay to ask for help, right? If people
4:28
Speaker 2: listening this morning want to take anything away, it's okay
4:31
Speaker 2: to ask for help, which I know is really difficult
4:34
Speaker 2: for a lot of people to do.
4:35
Speaker 1: I remember our previous conversation is that you felt a
4:38
Speaker 1: certain loneliness, like you were going through this alone and
4:43
Speaker 1: That doesn't have to be the case.
4:44
Speaker 3: No, no.
4:46
Speaker 2: And again, the American Cancer Society has a hotline you
4:50
Speaker 2: can call, right? And you can talk to them about
4:53
Speaker 2: anything and they will get you the support that you need.
4:56
Speaker 2: And there is no reason to ever feel alone, right?
4:59
Speaker 2: You can get that help. So don't be able to
5:03
Speaker 2: help yourself. Don't do that, right?
5:04
Speaker 1: Peg, we hear the phrase early detection saves lives. We
5:08
Speaker 1: hear it all the time. What does early detection actually
5:11
Speaker 1: change for a patient?
5:13
Speaker 3: Well, if a cancer is found early, then there's a
5:17
Speaker 3: higher chance that it can be surgically removed, and then
5:20
Speaker 3: there's less of a chance that the cancer will spread,
5:23
Speaker 3: which ultimately would cause death in breast cancer, that the
5:27
Speaker 3: cancer has spread and that death results from that advanced
5:31
Speaker 3: stage cancer. It's not to say that people who have
5:35
Speaker 3: advanced stage cancer die will be dead immediately. There's so
5:38
Speaker 3: much hope now. There's so much treatment that any stage
5:43
Speaker 3: breast cancer is still full of promise and treatment. But
5:48
Speaker 3: early detection allows the smallest burden of the cancer to
5:53
Speaker 3: be present, and then that can hopefully be surgically removed
5:57
Speaker 3: so that there's less of a chance of spreading.
6:01
Speaker 1: Julie called you a hero.
6:03
Speaker 2: Oh.
6:03
Speaker 1: Do you see yourself as a hero? I don't.
6:06
Speaker 3: And I see the patients as heroes. I really do.
6:09
Speaker 3: They endure, you know, with such grace. And it just
6:13
Speaker 3: is such, people say to me, isn't it depressing to
6:15
Speaker 3: work in cancer? And it actually is not depressing at all.
6:18
Speaker 3: It's life affirming to work in cancer because you see
6:21
Speaker 3: people who are given, you know, just on any given day,
6:24
Speaker 3: the worst news of their life. And they stand up
6:27
Speaker 3: and say, okay, I'm ready. And they endure it. And
6:29
Speaker 3: they do it with such beauty and grace and teach
6:32
Speaker 3: us all a lesson about how valuable life is.
6:35
Speaker 1: You do recognize that healthcare professionals are heroes. To a
6:39
Speaker 1: lot of people, especially look at Julie, she's shaking her
6:42
Speaker 1: head yes.
6:43
Speaker 3: Well, I will certainly put in a plug for all
6:45
Speaker 3: oncology professionals and people who work in our field. It
6:50
Speaker 3: is difficult and it can be sometimes challenging and sometimes dispiriting,
6:59
Speaker 3: but In order to provide that care, you do have
7:02
Speaker 3: to find within yourself something that says, yes, this is
7:06
Speaker 3: worth it. I am going to go back to work.
7:08
Speaker 3: I'm going to do my research or my writing or
7:11
Speaker 3: my teaching or take care of patients right on the
7:13
Speaker 3: floor or in the infusion rooms and find a lot
7:17
Speaker 3: of value and worth in that. And I think the
7:19
Speaker 3: patients will say to you, yes, it is worth it
7:23
Speaker 3: to us to have you here. As an oncology nurse,
7:26
Speaker 3: we certainly get a lot of, I wouldn't say praise,
7:30
Speaker 3: but a lot of thanks and a lot of gratefulness
7:36
Speaker 3: from patients because you're truly walking a journey that nobody
7:39
Speaker 3: wants to walk. And that idea of, I got you,
7:43
Speaker 3: I've seen this before, I'm going to walk with you
7:46
Speaker 3: and your family because I've walked with lots of people
7:48
Speaker 3: before and their families, it's very comforting to people.
7:52
Speaker 2: Yes, yes it is.
7:53
Speaker 3: I was going to say, they are the experts, right?
7:56
Speaker 2: They're If you think about it, Peg, they're the comfort blankets, right?
8:00
Speaker 2: They surround you, and they know how to guide you
8:04
Speaker 2: and how to help you navigate through everything. So I
8:06
Speaker 2: am very thankful for them, and you are a hero,
8:09
Speaker 2: no matter what you think.
8:10
Speaker 1: We're talking with Peg and Julia of the American Cancer Society,
8:12
Speaker 1: a couple of volunteers. I don't want to get too
8:14
Speaker 1: far without mentioning that coming up on October 18th, it's
8:17
Speaker 1: going to be the Making Strides Walk, Accresure Stadium. It's
8:20
Speaker 1: not too late to sign up. It's not too late
8:23
Speaker 1: to donate. Research is vital, and I'm sure you agree
8:27
Speaker 1: that research makes a huge difference in the fight against cancer.
8:32
Speaker 3: The wonderful thing about the research program from the American
8:35
Speaker 3: Cancer Society is that they recognize that there are many
8:38
Speaker 3: facets to cancer research. So they will fund very basic
8:44
Speaker 3: biologic cellular research, and many important cancer discoveries have come
8:51
Speaker 3: from those dollars where they support people in basic research
8:55
Speaker 3: labs doing the experiments that we think about to discover
8:59
Speaker 3: drugs or to discover why cells behave in a certain way.
9:03
Speaker 3: But the American Cancer Society also recognizes that there's a
9:06
Speaker 3: human side to cancer. And so they will also fund
9:09
Speaker 3: research that explores the experience of cancer and what that
9:13
Speaker 3: means for patients and families and how that can be improved.
9:17
Speaker 3: So they look at cancer as a multidimensional process. and
9:23
Speaker 3: they will support all of those different endeavors through their
9:27
Speaker 3: research dollars, different mechanisms. And the mechanisms evolve and change
9:32
Speaker 3: as cancer care evolves and as different needs evolve.
9:37
Speaker 1: So tell me more about the evolution. Where have you
9:39
Speaker 1: seen the American Cancer Society make strides in helping individuals
9:45
Speaker 1: go through cancer?
9:45
Speaker 3: One of the things that they do is they have
9:47
Speaker 3: catalyst awards. So they will say, if you've been funded
9:51
Speaker 3: by the American Cancer Society, we want you to partner
9:53
Speaker 3: with someone else who has been funded by the American
9:56
Speaker 3: Cancer Society. And perhaps from two different fields, perhaps a
10:00
Speaker 3: nurse and a basic scientist. And we want you to
10:03
Speaker 3: think about ways that you could bring your science together
10:06
Speaker 3: and improve care for patients and families or improve the
10:11
Speaker 3: drug development or improve what we understand about cells. So
10:15
Speaker 3: there's all sorts of innovative things that they think about
10:19
Speaker 3: in order to continually challenge the researchers and to get
10:24
Speaker 3: more on their investment. Because when they invest in a researcher,
10:28
Speaker 3: they want the research to continue and to continue to grow,
10:31
Speaker 3: and they want that researcher to be successful.
10:33
Speaker 1: You know, the American Cancer Society does a number of things.
10:36
Speaker 1: Not only do they, you know, provide research money, but awareness, advocacy,
10:42
Speaker 1: They have certain programs for people going through cancer. But
10:46
Speaker 1: I asked you, one of the first questions I asked
10:49
Speaker 1: you was about early detection. And that's one of their
10:51
Speaker 1: big things is they want you to, early detection is
10:55
Speaker 1: very important. I can't remember if it was one of
10:59
Speaker 1: you or somebody else from American Cancer Society. It says
11:02
Speaker 1: you know your body. If there's something that is abnormal
11:06
Speaker 1: that you should, and don't be reluctant, to reach out
11:08
Speaker 1: to a medical professional and find out about it.
11:11
Speaker 3: Right.
11:12
Speaker 1: So what is some of your advice for somebody who is,
11:16
Speaker 1: you know, that maybe is a little loose about getting
11:21
Speaker 1: mammograms or something like that?
11:23
Speaker 3: Well, we tell people, don't be afraid. Just let's talk
11:27
Speaker 3: about why you are reluctant to get a mammogram. Is
11:30
Speaker 3: it something around finances? Because mammography in the Pittsburgh region
11:34
Speaker 3: and in Pennsylvania is paid for. We have a wonderful
11:38
Speaker 3: voucher program and anybody can connect an individual to the
11:42
Speaker 3: voucher program so that any mammogram is paid for and
11:47
Speaker 3: all treatment working up, any abnormality is paid for, any
11:52
Speaker 3: diagnostic test. And if you are diagnosed with breast cancer,
11:55
Speaker 3: that treatment is paid. So this is a wonderful voucher
11:58
Speaker 3: program that is available. And I work with the American
12:01
Speaker 3: Cancer Society on the ground in Allegheny County, and we
12:05
Speaker 3: make people aware of this program to say there's a
12:08
Speaker 3: voucher program. If you're not old enough at the age
12:12
Speaker 3: of 40 or whatever the recommendation for you is, And
12:16
Speaker 3: you find something wrong with your breast, a lot of
12:18
Speaker 3: younger women will say, I don't even want to know
12:21
Speaker 3: or I can't go down that path. We just encourage
12:25
Speaker 3: you to go and get it checked out. Chances are
12:28
Speaker 3: it's not cancer. But peace of mind and on the
12:33
Speaker 3: rare chance that it is cancer because cancer can occur
12:35
Speaker 3: in younger women, we want you again to have that
12:38
Speaker 3: early diagnosis and to have every chance for long, long life.
12:43
Speaker 1: Now, Julie, you have a family history of breast cancer.
12:46
Speaker 1: Was there any reluctance in getting a mammogram or maybe
12:50
Speaker 1: investigating what is happening to you?
12:54
Speaker 3: No, not at all, Johnny.
12:55
Speaker 2: In fact, to me, after watching my mom battle breast
13:02
Speaker 2: cancer for 12 years and seeing her suffer, I would
13:05
Speaker 2: absolutely not and I'd recommend anybody to get screened for sure, right?
13:09
Speaker 2: There should be no fear whatsoever. about getting screened. It
13:12
Speaker 2: saves your life, right? Like Peg talked about in the
13:16
Speaker 2: beginning about how early detection is key because if you
13:19
Speaker 2: can catch the cancer early, that you can fight it
13:23
Speaker 2: much better. And I'm living proof of that, right? So
13:26
Speaker 2: I was, I was, my cancer got caught from a
13:28
Speaker 2: mammogram and I was early detection, right? And so If
13:32
Speaker 2: you look at the difference between me and my mom, right,
13:35
Speaker 2: I'm here and she's not, and her cancer got caught
13:37
Speaker 2: much later.
13:38
Speaker 3: So it's huge.
13:39
Speaker 2: So I would advise anybody, and I always hear, Peg,
13:42
Speaker 2: that I'm not going to get my mammogram because I
13:45
Speaker 2: don't have time. Well, there's nothing you can do for
13:49
Speaker 2: yourself that's better than to take care of yourself because...
13:52
Speaker 2: You can't take care of others if you can't take
13:54
Speaker 2: care of yourself or if you're sick. So you really
13:57
Speaker 2: need to stop and take a minute and make the
13:59
Speaker 2: time for you and get that screening and help save
14:02
Speaker 2: your life.
14:04
Speaker 1: Have you talked to women who have been reluctant to
14:07
Speaker 1: get mammograms? Either they're giving those kind of excuses and
14:10
Speaker 1: what do you generally say to them?
14:12
Speaker 3: Yes, absolutely.
14:13
Speaker 2: And Johnny, I know you might find it shocking, but
14:16
Speaker 2: there's a lot of people who just won't go to
14:19
Speaker 2: get the mammogram, right? And to me, I just look
14:22
Speaker 2: at them and I'm like, I'm still alive for a
14:24
Speaker 2: reason right now. And one of those reasons was because
14:28
Speaker 2: I got my mammogram and it helped save my life.
14:31
Speaker 2: And you really should get screened too, right?
14:33
Speaker 3: There is no excuse.
14:34
Speaker 2: I've offered to go with people if they're afraid or
14:37
Speaker 2: if they say, oh, I don't have a way there,
14:39
Speaker 2: I'll drive you there, right? Like there's just no excuse.
14:42
Speaker 2: Eliminate those barriers, save your life and get screened.
14:45
Speaker 1: October, of course, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And full admission,
14:48
Speaker 1: my mother had breast cancer. She had, well, this is
14:52
Speaker 1: what happened. She had Alzheimer's and they detected breast cancer
14:57
Speaker 1: and they told us that she had it before. But
15:01
Speaker 1: none of us, her local doctor wasn't aware of it,
15:05
Speaker 1: but they could see the operation where they did the operation.
15:09
Speaker 1: And it was back then, it was, you know, breast
15:13
Speaker 1: cancer was a detriment. You might lose your job. So
15:16
Speaker 1: we've come a long, long way. We've got ways to go.
15:20
Speaker 1: We're always looking for improvements, but things have improved quite
15:24
Speaker 1: a bit. What kind of improvements have you seen? as
15:28
Speaker 1: a professional over the years?
15:30
Speaker 3: I do think the public awareness and ease of talking
15:34
Speaker 3: about breast cancer has changed tremendously. There was a, or
15:38
Speaker 3: probably still is in many areas, a stigma about cancer overall. But,
15:43
Speaker 3: you know, we are a tension and celebrity culture. And
15:47
Speaker 3: as more and more sort of people of prominence or
15:50
Speaker 3: had a lot of media attention speak about breast cancer,
15:54
Speaker 3: it became okay to sort of talk about that and
15:57
Speaker 3: to say, yes, I've undergone treatment, I'm fine. or to
16:01
Speaker 3: show actually going through treatment. And now you see women
16:04
Speaker 3: with stage four cancer saying, yes, I'm going through treatment,
16:07
Speaker 3: but I'm also living my life. So this sort of
16:11
Speaker 3: openness about, yep, it's cancer and I'm living with it
16:15
Speaker 3: is very different. And I think that's come from advocacy
16:19
Speaker 3: and survivors speaking out and saying, I'm not going to
16:23
Speaker 3: be shamed. I'm going to be right here. You see
16:26
Speaker 3: this at the walk with women who will walk without
16:29
Speaker 3: hair or even show scars to say, I'm not ashamed.
16:35
Speaker 1: These are battle scars. I'm proud. I'm a survivor. This
16:37
Speaker 1: is what I had to do. This is me.
16:39
Speaker 3: Get over it.
16:40
Speaker 1: And we applaud all those individuals. Right, right, right. Whether
16:44
Speaker 1: they have hair or not, it doesn't matter. Those are
16:47
Speaker 1: the heroes, too.
16:47
Speaker 2: Yes.
16:48
Speaker 1: Yeah, because they show the people that this is an
16:50
Speaker 1: example of you can survive this. You can do this.
16:55
Speaker 3: They give hope and inspiration.
16:57
Speaker 2: Yes.
16:57
Speaker 1: So let's talk a little bit about Making Strides, which
17:00
Speaker 1: is coming up at Accresure Stadium coming up on October 18th.
17:04
Speaker 1: What can you tell us about Making Strides?
17:07
Speaker 2: It is such a special morning. I mean, to just see,
17:10
Speaker 2: like we talked about, all the survivors that are there,
17:13
Speaker 2: it's just so inspiring. And it's a really family-friendly event, right?
17:17
Speaker 2: So bring your kids. There's tons of activities going on.
17:20
Speaker 2: There's a beautiful tribute garden to remember those who have
17:24
Speaker 2: passed from cancer or those who are in the fight
17:27
Speaker 2: right now or survivors, right, to honor all of them.
17:30
Speaker 2: So it's just gorgeous. And it's a very quiet area
17:33
Speaker 2: where you can just reflect. And it's just so special.
17:35
Speaker 1: Well, it's unfortunate, but cancer has touched just about everybody's life.
17:40
Speaker 1: And you mentioned that there's kids involved. And unlike my mother,
17:45
Speaker 1: my mother didn't share her diagnosis. And this is something
17:49
Speaker 1: that you can share. So they understand That, you know,
17:52
Speaker 1: at some point, a young girl who's six or seven,
17:55
Speaker 1: at some point, she can understand that mammograms should be
18:02
Speaker 1: a regular part of life. Right, right. Yeah. So what else?
18:05
Speaker 1: Tell us more about Making Strides and what kind of
18:08
Speaker 1: gives us the atmosphere of the event.
18:10
Speaker 2: It is just, again, it's so special and it's so inspiring.
18:13
Speaker 2: And there's tons and tons of people that come out
18:16
Speaker 2: from the community to support it. It's a walk, right?
18:18
Speaker 2: So anybody can do it. You can go whatever distance
18:22
Speaker 2: you want. And there's, you know, people cheering you along
18:25
Speaker 2: the course, along the way. And it really, truly, again,
18:29
Speaker 2: for all the cancer survivors out there, just to see them,
18:32
Speaker 2: it's just so inspiring.
18:33
Speaker 1: Now, you're very open about asking for help. And this
18:36
Speaker 1: is an opportunity to spread that message.
18:39
Speaker 3: Yep. Yep, exactly.
18:41
Speaker 2: And there's, I think the other thing, too, is there's
18:45
Speaker 2: areas where survivors can all meet and talk to each
18:48
Speaker 2: other and give each other advice and really kind of connect.
18:52
Speaker 2: And that's a huge area too. And as well for caregivers, right?
18:55
Speaker 2: There's a whole caregiver section to making strides as a
18:59
Speaker 2: caregiver before a survivor. Being a caregiver is tough, right?
19:03
Speaker 2: So let's give a shout out to all the caregivers
19:05
Speaker 2: out there because it is a very difficult job.
19:08
Speaker 1: I'm glad you said that because oftentimes they They sacrifice
19:15
Speaker 1: their own lives.
19:16
Speaker 3: Right. They're the unsung heroes.
19:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, they really are. And a lot of them die
19:20
Speaker 1: much too young because of the stress and the burden
19:25
Speaker 1: that they take on.
19:26
Speaker 3: They haven't been looking after themselves, right?
19:28
Speaker 1: Sure, yeah.
19:30
Speaker 3: Another really cool thing about that morning is that you
19:33
Speaker 3: see all the different community groups that support breast cancer that,
19:36
Speaker 3: you know, you might not have known about. And so
19:39
Speaker 3: you get to meet all those people who are involved
19:41
Speaker 3: in the community in their own way. There's a group
19:44
Speaker 3: that always comes dressed as superheroes. They're fun. People on stilts.
19:49
Speaker 3: It's just really fun. fun, you know, it just does
19:52
Speaker 3: feel very, very special.
19:53
Speaker 1: Yeah.
19:54
Speaker 3: Face painting, right?
19:54
Speaker 2: Yeah.
19:55
Speaker 3: Yeah. It's a lot of fun.
19:56
Speaker 1: So when did you start getting involved with the American
19:58
Speaker 1: Cancer Society? We'll start with Julie.
20:00
Speaker 2: Well, Joni, I started quite a few years ago, over
20:05
Speaker 2: 20 years ago. And so I started when my mom
20:09
Speaker 2: got diagnosed with cancer and really realized I wanted to
20:11
Speaker 2: fight back, right? And I wanted to help raise money
20:13
Speaker 2: for research. And so I had started with Relay for Life,
20:18
Speaker 2: which is an American Cancer Society event. And I eventually
20:23
Speaker 2: worked and I have my own 5K to fight cancer
20:26
Speaker 2: with the American Cancer Society in the spring every year.
20:30
Speaker 2: And of course, I am on the Making Strides Committee
20:33
Speaker 2: for breast cancer, for the breast cancer walk to help
20:35
Speaker 2: grow that walk as well. So anything that i can
20:38
Speaker 2: do with them to help fight cancer and raise money
20:41
Speaker 2: for all the programs i'm absolutely and.
20:43
Speaker 1: You were part of acsb even before your diagnosis.
20:45
Speaker 3: Yes yes yeah for quite some time so.
20:48
Speaker 1: So what your connection with acs did it change once
20:52
Speaker 1: you found out the diagnosis.
20:54
Speaker 2: Yes yeah it did for sure right and to me
20:57
Speaker 2: i know peg talked a little bit about the programs
21:00
Speaker 2: but right like like call the cancer helpline, right? The 1-800-227-2345, right?
21:06
Speaker 2: Call that number and get the help that you need.
21:09
Speaker 2: And they help connect you with resources so that to, again,
21:13
Speaker 2: to help you move forward. So yeah, that was huge, right?
21:16
Speaker 2: To get the support, but it also helped me really
21:19
Speaker 2: because I was able to connect with so many other survivors.
21:23
Speaker 2: as well. And again, we talked about the loneliness, right?
21:25
Speaker 2: Like to connect with them and see people that had
21:28
Speaker 2: survived for like, you know, 20 years, 30 years and
21:30
Speaker 2: just such like, just so, so much hope, right?
21:33
Speaker 3: It gave me hope.
21:35
Speaker 1: Um, going back to Julie, uh, your work, um, looks
21:40
Speaker 1: at cancer treatment equity, uh, here in Allegheny County, are
21:44
Speaker 1: women receiving the same chance of surviving breast cancer, uh,
21:48
Speaker 1: or are they still significant gaps?
21:51
Speaker 3: There are gaps in care, not in walking into a
21:56
Speaker 3: cancer center and that a black woman is treated differently.
21:59
Speaker 3: It's really in the support that we have discussed and
22:03
Speaker 3: some of the late stage diagnosis, those kinds of things
22:06
Speaker 3: that perhaps are really coming from community. And we are
22:11
Speaker 3: trying to reach out to strengthen communities so that they
22:15
Speaker 3: in turn can strengthen their individuals from those communities so
22:19
Speaker 3: that Everybody knows about mammography. Everybody has transportation to either
22:24
Speaker 3: mammography or care. And that going through treatment can be supported, again,
22:31
Speaker 3: through all of the what we call social determinants, food
22:34
Speaker 3: and lodging and transportation, but also through support and peer
22:39
Speaker 3: support so that it's very meaningful. It can be sometimes
22:42
Speaker 3: challenging at the cancer center to get all the support
22:45
Speaker 3: that you need because the cancer center is so busy
22:48
Speaker 3: kind of providing the cancer care. And so we are
22:51
Speaker 3: working on trying to boost community so that communities can
22:55
Speaker 3: in turn help individuals.
22:57
Speaker 1: Well, speaking of community, I think Pittsburgh's community, medical community,
23:01
Speaker 1: is very outspoken. And I think there's certain advantages, but
23:05
Speaker 1: there's always going to be disadvantages. And American Cancer Society does,
23:10
Speaker 1: I think, a great job of trying to address that
23:13
Speaker 1: and letting people know. And it's all about, it's kind
23:15
Speaker 1: of communication. You mentioned vouchers a few minutes ago. I
23:19
Speaker 1: think it's worth mentioning again. Tell us about the vouchers.
23:22
Speaker 3: Well, there's a voucher program that comes to the state
23:24
Speaker 3: of Pennsylvania, and then it comes to local communities. So
23:28
Speaker 3: in our area, this is administered through Adagio Health. And
23:32
Speaker 3: Adagio Health works with different organizations. So they work with
23:36
Speaker 3: us at Hillman Cancer Center. They work with Allegheny Health
23:39
Speaker 3: Network and all different organizations to be sure that the
23:44
Speaker 3: organizations say, oh, if you're uninsured and you are uninsured,
23:48
Speaker 3: below Medicare age, you need to have a mammogram, but
23:51
Speaker 3: you're afraid about paying for it, we have a voucher
23:55
Speaker 3: program for you. And again, it is completely free of charge.
23:59
Speaker 3: So they do a really good job of partnering with
24:03
Speaker 3: community agencies so that they get these vouchers out there
24:07
Speaker 3: and people are aware of it. So then, for instance,
24:10
Speaker 3: I work at McGee and we have social workers there
24:12
Speaker 3: who will help women connect to these voucher programs, but
24:16
Speaker 3: also get the voucher programs for treatment and then connect
24:21
Speaker 3: to American Cancer Society for transportation. So there's lots of support,
24:25
Speaker 3: but this voucher program is just So, so valuable.
24:29
Speaker 1: And I think we need to spread the word.
24:31
Speaker 3: Yes, absolutely.
24:32
Speaker 1: You help lead the Allegheny County Breast Collective. What is
24:35
Speaker 1: it and what is your objective with that?
24:37
Speaker 3: We started that through really the University of Pittsburgh because
24:41
Speaker 3: there was a concern about the disparity in race in
24:47
Speaker 3: Pittsburgh area so that black women die early. more quickly
24:51
Speaker 3: with breast cancer than white women do. And so a
24:53
Speaker 3: group of people came together and started to say, what
24:56
Speaker 3: can we do about this? How could we sort of
24:59
Speaker 3: investigate this and what can we do about it? And
25:01
Speaker 3: this has lasted now for about 15 years. Um, And
25:07
Speaker 3: it's so beautiful because it is, we call it non-denominational
25:10
Speaker 3: in terms of the cancer centers. So Allegheny Health Network
25:15
Speaker 3: and UPMC work together. The Allegheny County Health Department provides
25:18
Speaker 3: us a lot of data. We have a lot of
25:21
Speaker 3: different community people who have their own organizations or their
25:25
Speaker 3: own support groups. Whatever they have, we will invite, invite, invite.
25:30
Speaker 3: I meet a lot of people at the walk and
25:32
Speaker 3: and invite them to join Allegheny County Breast Collaborative because
25:35
Speaker 3: I'm like, oh, I didn't even know you existed. Come
25:38
Speaker 3: to our meetings. And then we use data from the
25:41
Speaker 3: county health department to identify communities where perhaps mammography rates
25:46
Speaker 3: are low or there's late stage diagnosis. And then we
25:49
Speaker 3: will go and work with our partners within those communities
25:52
Speaker 3: to say, Is there something that we can do? Could
25:54
Speaker 3: we perhaps do a mammography event and get people to
25:59
Speaker 3: a mammogram suite? What day would be good for you?
26:02
Speaker 3: We try to work with the people on the ground
26:04
Speaker 3: in those communities. to try to improve these numbers.
26:07
Speaker 1: Are you seeing progress?
26:08
Speaker 3: Yes, we are seeing progress. We see mammography rates in
26:12
Speaker 3: this area that are exceeding national rates, and we also
26:17
Speaker 3: exceed the goals for sort of what should be the
26:21
Speaker 3: mammography rates in your areas. We exceed that, and we
26:23
Speaker 3: can all, I think, have a pat on the back
26:26
Speaker 3: to say it is through ongoing, come on, come on,
26:30
Speaker 3: let's help, let's get this out, that we can sort
26:33
Speaker 3: of And yell from the rooftops. We've done this. And
26:37
Speaker 3: black women are very highly screened in the Pittsburgh area.
26:41
Speaker 3: So I think that's something that we can all be
26:44
Speaker 3: proud of.
26:44
Speaker 1: It's an advantage of the community. So we're getting that
26:46
Speaker 1: word out. And communication is key.
26:49
Speaker 3: And it is so wonderful to work together. collaboratively. You know,
26:52
Speaker 3: we have such treasure in this area, and it is
26:56
Speaker 3: wonderful to work collaboratively. But who's one of the leaders
27:00
Speaker 3: of the Allegheny County Breast Collaborative is the American Cancer Society.
27:03
Speaker 1: That's great. Okay. Every time we get together and talk,
27:08
Speaker 1: time just flies by. We only have a couple of minutes.
27:12
Speaker 1: So is there anything that you want people to know,
27:15
Speaker 1: either about early detection or cancer in general or American
27:18
Speaker 1: Cancer Society? Is there something that you want to add
27:21
Speaker 1: to the conversation?
27:21
Speaker 3: I think the American Cancer Society is a gem. And
27:24
Speaker 3: it's a gem that has been a longstanding tradition in
27:27
Speaker 3: this area. In any way that you can support or support,
27:31
Speaker 3: take action against breast cancer is important. It's anything that
27:38
Speaker 3: you can do. Can you offer to go with someone
27:41
Speaker 3: and assist them if they're afraid of a mammogram? Could
27:44
Speaker 3: you sit with them during treatment if they're getting breast
27:46
Speaker 3: cancer treatment? Could you work within your faith organization to say,
27:51
Speaker 3: could we do an event here within our church or synagogue?
27:55
Speaker 3: Anything that you could do to sort of get that
27:57
Speaker 3: awareness out there I think is really invaluable.
28:00
Speaker 2: Julie?
28:00
Speaker 1: Agree, right?
28:02
Speaker 3: Get involved, right?
28:03
Speaker 2: And Johnny, you said it a little bit ago, like
28:06
Speaker 2: everybody knows somebody who's been impacted by cancer, right? And
28:10
Speaker 2: so as Peg said, take action, right? Get involved, whether
28:13
Speaker 2: you're volunteering or helping a neighbor or, you know, coming
28:17
Speaker 2: to a walk, right? Like get involved, help end this
28:20
Speaker 2: for everybody, right? And you can make a difference. One
28:23
Speaker 2: person can make a difference. And of course, do not
28:26
Speaker 2: forget to get your screening, get your mammogram.
28:28
Speaker 1: Now, Making Sprites is obviously a fundraiser, which, by the way,
28:31
Speaker 1: is coming up on October 18th at Akershire Stadium. It's
28:34
Speaker 1: not too late to sign up or donate.
28:37
Speaker 3: Or volunteer.
28:38
Speaker 1: Or volunteer. But when thousands of people gather together at
28:41
Speaker 1: Akershire Stadium, what happens there that you can't measure in dollars?
28:47
Speaker 3: It's the community.
28:49
Speaker 2: I mean, it's a very emotional morning, right? I mean,
28:52
Speaker 2: you'll see people crying everywhere. it really tugs on your heartstrings, right?
28:57
Speaker 2: But it also, it's emotional, but it also gives you hope, right?
29:01
Speaker 2: That there's hope that we can end this together, right?
29:04
Speaker 2: We can do this. And so you can't get that
29:09
Speaker 2: unless you're there. And to me, there's no better feeling
29:12
Speaker 2: than hope and ending cancer so that nobody has to
29:14
Speaker 2: hear the words you have cancer.
29:16
Speaker 1: Making Strides Walk, go to makingstrideswalk.org slash greaterpittsburgh, October 18th
29:22
Speaker 1: at Accresure Stadium. Julie, Peg, thank you for your time.
29:26
Speaker 1: Good luck with your event.
29:27
Speaker 2: Thank you so much. We'll be walking for your mom.
29:31
Speaker 1: As always, if you have any comments, a concern, or
29:33
Speaker 1: an idea for a future program, please email us from
29:36
Speaker 1: this radio station's website. I'm Johnny Hartwell.
29:39
Speaker 2: Thank you.
29:39
Speaker 1: So much for listening.