Community Educators Present Findings on How to Bring Colorectal Cancer Information to Underserved Latino Communities

PHILADELPHIA (November 13, 2015) – Colorectal cancer is the second-most commonly diagnosed cancer in both Hispanic men and women, a fact Fox Chase Cancer Center – Temple Health educators are working to change through dissemination of colorectal cancer information tailored to the needs of underserved Latino populations, as part of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD), National Outreach Network (NON).

Evelyn Gonzalez, MAEvelyn González, MA, Senior Director of the Office of Community Outreach at Fox Chase, and her colleagues outlined how trained community health educators can disseminate culturally appropriate, evidence-based cancer information specific to Latino communities in a presentation at the American Association of Cancer Research Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved in Atlanta on Nov. 13-16, 2015.

“At Fox Chase, we have a variety of strategies that we utilize to engage the community in addressing the cancer health disparities,” González said. “As part of the NON, we will share our approach and outcomes to educating Latinos in the Philadelphia, PA region about colorectal cancer.  We know the programming is effective as our evaluations show an increasing knowledge, changing attitudes, and perceptions about colorectal screening.”

Fox Chase Cancer Center (Fox Chase), which includes the Institute for Cancer Research and the American Oncologic Hospital and is a part of Temple Health, is one of the leading comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase is also one of just 10 members of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence six consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center that there shall be no exclusion from, or participation in, and no one denied the benefits of, the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.

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