Congressional Families Program learns firsthand about Equal Hope in Chicago
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes. Though Black women are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, they are about 40% more likely to die of the disease.1
That disparity was once even starker in Chicago. From 2005-2007, Black women in Chicago had a 62% higher death rate for breast cancer than white women, even though they were less likely to be diagnosed with the disease. Today, that gap has lowered to 39%, and Black deaths are down 14%.2 That’s in large part thanks to Equal Hope, a nonprofit organization originally set up in 2008 as the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force after research confirmed Chicago had large and growing racial disparities in breast cancer mortality.
In August, Equal Hope met with the Congressional Families® Program to share how the organization is meeting these disparities with the support of a Prevent Cancer Foundation® grant. More than 30 members of Congress, their spouses, and adult children, as well as the First Lady of Minnesota Gwen Walz, learned about Equal Hope’s impactful work from Executive Director Paris Thomas, MS, MCHES, Ph.D., Director of Community Health & Engagement Jiana Calixto, MPH, Senior Community Health Worker Donalynne Schaffer, and two-time breast cancer survivor and Equal Hope client Tracy Crawford .
After more than a decade of work, Chicago is now no. 1 in the nation in reducing breast cancer deaths for Black women. Equal Hope’s innovative model meets people where they are and provides access for uninsured, underinsured and publicly insured women to higher quality care for breast, cervical cancer, and other cancers and diseases.
Equal Hope was one of 12 organizations selected to receive $25,000 in 2023 from the Foundation for their dedication to increasing cancer prevention and early detection in rural and urban communities across the United States. Through site visits with congressional members and spouses, the Congressional Families Program shines a light on awarded projects and best practices that can potentially be adapted for other communities.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Learn more about your breast cancer risk and put your health first by taking the screening quiz.
1 American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2024. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2024.
2 Equal Hope. Retrieved October 15, 2024, from https://equalhope.org/about/achievements/