Mind and body wellness during cancer treatment

CityLine: Mind and body wellness during cancer treatment

Ellie Fund offers a range of supports to promote health for patients.

MORE THAN 360,000 PEOPLE WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER THIS YEAR IN THE U.S., BLACK WOMEN ARE 40% MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM BREAST CANCER COMPARED TO THEIR WHITE PEERS. THAT DESPITE A LOWER INCIDENCE RATE AND SIMILAR SCREENING RATES, STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT WOMEN WHO ENGAGED IN REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BEFORE THEIR CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND AFTER TREATMENT WERE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE THEIR CANCER RECUR, OR TO DIE, COMPARED WITH THOSE WHO WERE INACTIVE. JOINING US NOW TO DISCUSS HOW TO SUPPORT PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELLNESS FOR WOMEN UNDERGOING TREATMENT FOR CANCER IS NAKIA CLARK. SHE IS THE ELLIE FUND DIRECTOR OF PATIENT SERVICES AND OUTREACH AND BOSTON BREAST CANCER EQUITY COALITION’S CO-CHAIR AND RACHELLE JOYNER JONES, FACILITATOR OF THE BIPOC SUPPORT GROUP. HOW ARE YOU BOTH? GOOD TO SEE YOU TODAY. THANKS FOR HAVING US. THANK YOU. SO, NAKIA, WHY ARE WE SEEING THIS WIDER DISPARITY IN OUTCOMES FOR BLACK WOMEN AND BREAST CANCER? AND DO WE KNOW WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR IT? THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS WHY. ONE IS FEAR. THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE AFRAID OF GETTING MAMMOGRAMS, GOING TO THE DOCTOR. THERE ARE COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY LIVE, THEIR ENVIRONMENT THAT HAS SOME FACTORS IN IT AND JUST NOT THE UNKNOWN. NOT BEING EDUCATED ON BREAST CANCER HEALTH. SO WITH THOSE THREE, THAT COMES A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO JUST DON’T GO TO THE DOCTOR OR ARE AFRAID. NAKIA. PEOPLE MAY ASSUME THAT WHILE SOMEONE IS GOING THROUGH CANCER TREATMENT, THAT THEY’RE NOT WELL ENOUGH TO EXERCISE, BUT YOU ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET PHYSICAL. TELL US ABOUT THE PAVING PROGRAM THAT IS THROUGH OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS. AMY COMMANDER AT NEWTON-WELLESLEY HOSPITAL AND WHAT SHE DOES IS TRY TO HAVE PATIENTS CONTINUE TO MOVE. IF YOU STOP MOVING, YOU’RE YOU’RE MORE LIKELY TO GET SICK. SO IF YOU KEEP MOVING, IT’S GOING TO GET YOU A HEALTHIER OUTCOME. AND HEALTHY EATING CAN ALSO HELP MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS OF OF TREATMENT AND RESEARCH. POINTS TO THE BENEFITS OF PLANT BASED DIETS AS WELL. BUT THAT CAN BE EXPENSIVE. HOW IS THE ELLIE FUND BOTH EDUCATING AND MAKING DIETARY CHANGES POSSIBLE FOR PATIENTS? ONE OF THE SERVICES THAT WE HELP WITH IS GROCERY GIFT CARD. ANOTHER IS MEAL DELIVERY. SO WITH THE GROCERY GIFT CARDS, WE’RE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME MORE FUNDS FOR PATIENTS TO GO TO THE GROCERY STORE AND BUY ORGANIC AS OPPOSED TO BUYING THE UNHEALTHY FOODS I HEAR ALL THE TIME FROM OUR PATIENTS THAT SAY THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THIS GRANT, BECAUSE NOW I CAN BUY ORGANIC, OR NOW I CAN GO TO A STORE LIKE WHOLE FOODS WHERE I PROBABLY WOULDN’T HAVE BEFORE, AND I CAN EAT MUCH HEALTHIER WITH OUR MEAL DELIVERY PROGRAM. THEY ARE ABLE TO PICK, SELECT NUTRITIOUS MEALS SUCH AS SMOOTHIES, FRUITS, AND VEGETABLES SO THAT THEY CAN FEED THEMSELVES AS WELL AS THEIR FAMILY. AND ORGANIC FOOD IS VERY EXPENSIVE. IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE. RACIAL SUPPORT GROUPS ARE NOT NEW TO THE ELLIE FUND, BUT THE BIPOC SUPPORT GROUP FIRST LAUNCHED IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR. WHAT PROMPTED THIS NEW GROUP AND AND HOW IS THIS GROUP DIFFERENT? SO THIS GROUP IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT IS MADE UP OF ALL WOMEN, OF COLOR AND OH, I FORGOT THE QUESTION. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE BIPOC SUPPORT GROUP FOCUSES ON? SO WE FOCUS ON JUST BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE A SPACE FOR THESE WOMEN TO COME AND TALK AND GET THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED. A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE’RE HEARING IN THE IN THE SUPPORT GROUPS IS THE FACT THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE ARE WHO DO NOT HAVE THIS DISEASE, UNDERSTAND IT, AND SO WHEN YOU’RE GOING THROUGH IT, YOU NEED LIKE MINDED PEOPLE OR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALSO GOING THROUGH IT TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE NEEDS ARE. SOME OF THE ANGST BEHIND IT. SO IT’S IT’S REALLY A SPACE FOR THESE WOMEN TO CONNECT AND BOND AND GROW AND BUILD CONNECTION AND ALSO GET RESOURCES FROM WITHIN EACH OTHER. IF YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WOMEN IN THE BIPOC GROUP MIGHT BE FACING, THAT OTHERS ARE NOT, AND THE MOST COMMON PLACES THAT THEY NEED SUPPORT? YES. SO THE BIGGEST THING THAT WE ARE HEARING FROM THE WOMEN ARE THAT THEY ARE NOT BEING LISTENED TO DURING THEIR TREATMENT. YOU KNOW, THEY GET DIAGNOSED AND IT’S SORT OF LIKE JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS, BUT THEY HAVE NEEDS AND THEY ARE IT’S A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR THEIR BODIES. AND IT’S SORT OF JUST BEING TREATED AS SORT OF LIKE THE THE, THE SORT OF JUST THE DISEASE. AND NOT THE HUMAN BEING BEHIND THE DISEASE. AND SO A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE’RE HEARING IS THAT THEIR, THEIR NEEDS FOR FOOD, THEIR NEEDS FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF CLOTHING, THERE ARE NEEDS FOR THEIR FAMILIES THAT THEY AREN’T ABLE TO ACCESS BECAUSE THEY ARE NAVIGATING THIS DISEASE. AND THIS MIGHT GET BACK TO A LARGER ISSUE OF BIAS IN IN HEALTHCARE. TALK, IF YOU WOULD, ABOUT SOME OF THE RESEARCH THAT WAS BEHIND FOUNDING THIS BIPOC SUPPORT GROUP. YES, WE SURVEYED 40 ORGANIZATIONS AND THE BIGGEST NEED THAT WE HEARD WAS PEOPLE OF COLOR NEEDING A SUPPORT GROUP TO BE ABLE TO GO IN A GROUP OF PEOPLE OF THEIR OWN AND BE ABLE TO TO TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT THEY’RE GOING THROUGH. THEY HAVE THE SAME NEEDS, AND THEY THEY’RE MORE APT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THOSE NEEDS ARE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST LIKE THEMSELVES. AND AS RACHEL HAD MENTIONED, THEY’RE ABLE TO PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR EACH OTHER. SO THE ELLIE FUND STEPPED UP AND WE WANTED THAT WAS THE NUMBER ONE THING WE WANTED TO DO IS MAKE SURE WE HAD A COMMUNITY FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR TO, FOR SUPPORT. OKAY, SO ROCHELLE, THIS MONTH, THE ELLIE FUND LAUNCHED A METASTATIC SUPPORT GROUP, WHICH IS SUPPORTING WOMEN IN A DIFFERENT WAY OTHER THAN SUPPORT GROUPS. SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. AND ALSO WITH THE STATISTICS ABOUT BLACK WOMEN IN BREAST CANCER MORTALITY. WHAT IS THE INTERSECTION OF NEED? I’M ACTUALLY GOING TO PASS THAT ONE BACK TO NIKKI BECAUSE SHE HAS A REALLY GOOD INFORMATION ON THAT. YES. SO THE METASTATIC GROUP IS A DIFFERENT GROUP. THEY HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS THAN OUR THEIR PARTICIPANTS WHO ARE IN A CURATIVE STATE. THEIR DISEASE IS TERMINAL. AND SO THEY HAVE THE DIFFERENT NEEDS. AND TO HAVE THIS GROUP OF WOMEN TO COME TOGETHER AND, AND BOND OVER SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE TO WORK OUT WITH THEIR FAMILIES, HOW TO TALK TO THEIR CHILDREN, HOW HOW TO NAVIGATE THROUGH LIFE, KNOWING THAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH A DISEASE THAT IS TERMINAL AS FAR AS THE MORTALITY RATE, AGAIN, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE EDUCATION. IF WE HAD MORE EDUCATION AND IF PEOPLE HAVE TO SELF-ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES AND NOT JUST LISTEN TO THE DOCTOR AND SAY, OKAY, WELL, THIS IS WHAT THE DOCTORS SAY. IF YOU KNOW YOUR BODY. AND SO IF YOU’RE ABLE TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF AND SAY NO, DO ANOTHER TEST, YOU’LL HAVE A BETTER OUTCOME AND WE CAN DECREASE 40% TO 20 AND 0%. AND NIKHIL, LET ME ASK YOU, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU HAVE TAKEN A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE BREAST CANCER EQUITY COALITION. WHAT IS THAT ABOUT? SO WHAT THIS IS ABOUT IS EDUCATION, SELF-ADVOCACY AND PROVIDING RESOURCES FOR ANYONE GOING THROUGH BREAST CANCER. I AM IN THE COMMUNITY TALKING ABOUT THE RESOURCES THAT ELLIE FUND PROVIDES, AND IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME TO BE THE FACE OF THIS GROUP BECAUSE WE IT’S GOOD TO SEE SOMEONE WHO LOOKS LIKE YOU. YOU’RE MORE APT AGAIN, TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE THESE RESOURCES. IF YOU CAN SEE SOMEONE THAT HAS BEEN THROUGH THIS JOURNEY AND HAS AN OUTCOME THROUGH SELF-EXAMINATION. I FOUND MY BREAST CANCER AND I ADVOCATE A LOT FOR WOMEN TO CONTINUE TO SELF-EXAM AND TO GO TO YOUR MAMMOGRAM APPOINTMENTS. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING YOUR WORK. I WORE MY PINK JACKET JUST FOR YOU. ROCHELLE JOYNER JONES AND NAKIA CLARK, THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US. PLEASE, WE WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE ELLIE FUND SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE REGARDLESS OF YOUR INCOME. AND YOU CAN FIND LINKS TO RESOURCES ON OUR WEBSITE AT WCVB.COM. CITYLINE. THANKS SO MUCH FOR WATCHING, EVERYONE. BE SURE TO FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, AND FOLLOW ME ON EXIT KAREN HOLMES WARD AND YOU CAN WATCH THE SHOW ON OUR VERY LOCAL APP. IT’S FREE TO

CityLine: Mind and body wellness during cancer treatment

Ellie Fund offers a range of supports to promote health for patients.

In the U.S. Black women are 40-percent more likely to die from breast cancer compared to their white peers – that despite a lower incidence rate and similar screening rates. Offering support and physical and mental wellness for women undergoing treatment for cancer are Nekia Clark, Ellie Fund’s Director of Patient Services and Outreach and Boston Breast Cancer Equity Coalition’s Co-Chair and Raechelle Joyner Jones, Facilitator of the BIPOC Support Group.Patients undergoing active breast cancer treatment, who reside or receive treatment in Massachusetts, are eligible to apply for Ellie Fund services regardless of income.

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

Patients undergoing active breast cancer treatment, who reside or receive treatment in Massachusetts, are eligible to apply for Ellie Fund services regardless of income.

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