The University of New Mexico’s Comadre a Comadre program has received a one-year grant of $25,000 from the Prevent Cancer Foundation (PCF) to expand and enhance UNM’s community-based project Breast Health Platicas.
Comadre a Comadre is part of the College of Education Department. Co-founded in 2002, their mission is to empower the lives of Hispanic and Latina women and their loved ones through advocacy, education, information, resources and support about breast health and breast cancer, according to the program’s website.
UNM’s Comadre a Comadre was one of 12 programs recognized and chosen from a nationwide grant application process. PCF commitment is to stop cancer before it starts through four pillars — research, education, outreach and advocacy, according to the foundation’s website.
According to the PCF website, the grant will provide educational classes to at least 300 Hispanic and Latina women and increase cancer knowledge by 80 percent among its participants.
“It’s our first grant through Prevent Cancer, so we’re very very happy about that, that we were funded to do this,” said Comadre a Comadre Program Director, Dr. Elba L. Saavedra.
Comadre a Comadre has aligned missions and goals with PCF in reducing controllable breast cancer risk factors that can be changed with healthy eating, the knowledge to reduce the risk for breast cancer and knowing where resources are in the community, Saavedra said. PCF knows that Comadre a Comadre works with underserved and uninsured women she added.
“The objectives, the goal of that grant was to enhance through Breast Health Platica project that we implement, to enhance more knowledge and expand the classes to outside of Bernalillo (county) and focus on adding classes in Sandoval county and Valencia,” Saavedra said.
Comadre a Comadre offers educational sessions through informal conversational dialog, connects participants with community clinics for low-cost or no cost mammograms and to well-women exams, according to their website.
PCF has a competitive application process for the grant and choses applicants that demonstrate the potential for impact on cancer prevention. The proposals from programs are reviewed by members of distinguished scientific review panels such as the National Cancer Institution and John Hopkins University.
Saavedra said the breast health classes work with liaisons from partnerships from faith-based organizations and peer educators come and teach those classes at schools or churches. Classes are also conducted on the UNM campus with Facilities Management Saavedra said.
“The women love to see survivors explain why is it important to get a mammogram, how were they diagnosed, what was their screening practices like, so they’re learning from women like themselves,” Saavedra said.
The peer educators are trained volunteers and breast cancer survivors from the community that teach these classes, Saavedra said.
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The program concentrates on overcoming the barriers that come with navigating the healthcare systems and help women utilize and find the resources they need, Saavedra said.
“For some women, they’re being reintroduced to a primary care physician again, when they haven’t been in touch with a doctor,” Saavedra said.
Date and curriculum for the classes are reviewed and updated as needed and Saavedra said engagement from the community has been good — in 2016, 589 people attended classes and in 2017, 619 people attended classes.
Strengthening and the recruitment of more peer educators is one of the ultimate goals of the program, as well as moving the needle away from the fear of cancer and to lead to earlier detections Saavedra said.
“I would love to have some good outcomes again this year and be able to apply and compete again for next year’s grant and to have them continue to support us and to continue to see what a difference their funding is making in this community,” Saavedra said.
Alyssa Bitsie is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Albitsie.
