In 2021, Kris Newcomer and Pat Koppa founded the Breast Cancer Gaps Project. In response to their website, their mission is “to save lots of Black women’s lives from breast cancer through revolutionary, community-driven solutions. ” 

Black women have a 41 percent higher mortality rate from breast cancer than white women. The project works to eliminate this gap.

On August 1, Monisha Washington became the director of the Gaps Project. “As Black women in multiple areas of health and wellness, we [are often] dismissed,” says Washington, who knows this through personal experience. She became a community medical examiner after caring for her mom. 

As a young mom in her 20s, Washington’s mom noticed a lump in her breast while breastfeeding and reported it to her doctor. “They were telling her it was a cyst,” says Washington. “They were telling her it wasn’t cancer because she was too young.” 

After her doctors dismissed her concerns for years, she was diagnosed in her early 30s. By that point, it had spread to her lymph nodes. At diagnosis she was at stage 4, the very best stage.

“My mother is not any longer here,” Washington says. “My mother was a part of that 41%.”

This led Washington on her journey of spreading awareness. For 10 years she worked as a community medical examiner to support women with breast cancer and founded a corporation called The LinC. 

“I utilize community medical experts to bridge the gap in care in the neighborhood,” she explains. While sharing her passion for the work, she met Newcomer and Koppa, which later culminated in her becoming the Gaps Project director. 

With the input of  Black women, the Gaps Project developed a prototype of what they wanted breast cancer health care to seem like. They implemented this plan on the Brooklyn Park Clinic. 

The initiative ran from November 2023 through January 2024. It included 15 awareness and academic videos featuring women from the community. 

Within the video “The Mammogram Screening Process,” a nurse practitioner walks through each step of the method. After being placed of their rooms, women viewed this video while waiting to see their doctor. Women could also access videos of their MyChart files.

In response to the surveys women accomplished after watching the video, 75% reported learning something latest, and 85% were willing to share the knowledge with others. Women who watched the videos through MyChart were more prone to get a mammogram.

With the knowledge gathered during their prototype, the Gaps Project threw a Mamo Party in partnership with Neighborhood HealthSource in March of this yr. They were capable of eliminate the barrier of transportation women faced by providing Ubers for participants. 

It was held from 4 to 7 p.m., eliminating the barrier of taking day without work from work. Neighborhood HealthSource provides services for those without insurance, eliminating the barrier of insurance. The ladies were also capable of view the videos on the event.

Neighborhood Health Source uses community medical experts. “That model of a community medical examiner is looking just like the people you serve, speaking the identical language,” says Washington. “There have been translators there for individuals who didn’t speak [English].” 

This worked to eliminate the barrier of fear women face when considering a mammogram. In the course of the event, 15 women received mammograms and a $25 gift card. 

On Saturday, September 28, from noon to three p.m., the Gaps Project will host the Live, Laugh, Learn event on the Metropolitan Ballroom in St. Louis Park. This event is in partnership with Sister Spokesman.

“We desired to have something fun,” says Washington. “Bringing Black women together, but additionally [to] address the disparity.”

The event will feature a performance by Thomasina Petrus, free food, and a health panel. Health providers will likely be available to reply questions on screenings and mammograms.

Most significantly, the event will function a call to motion. “We really need to deal with that existing gap,” says Washington. “Get your mammogram done sooner slightly than later because we all know if we get them done sooner, we survive.”

Visit the Breast Cancer Gap Project website at www.breastcancergaps.org for more information and to view its videos. 

For more information on the Live, Laugh, Learn event, visit spokesman-recorder.com/sister-spokesman.