As the Manager of Community Outreach at UH Ireland Cancer Center, Hermione Malone works to implement the hospital’s mandate to reduce disparities in cancer treatment and promote prevention among Cleveland’s minority populations. Her department focuses primarily on three distinct disease groups: colorectal cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer. Ms. Malone explains that according to the Ohio Department of Health, black men have a higher incidence and death rate from cancer overall than do whites, and although black women have a lower breast cancer incidence rate than white women, their
mortality rate is higher.

The University Hospitals outreach program employs two outreach workers who seek to dispel myths about cancer and educate the community on what cancer is and how they can help reduce their risk.
At times, hospital physicians and nurses accompany the outreach workers into public housing estates, community centers and churches – anywhere there are groups of underserved people who can be reached and educated about cancer prevention and treatment.

Included in the work being done through the Community Outreach department is Project T.E.M.P.L.E.

Ms. Malone says that Project T.E.M.P.L.E. stands for “teaching, educating, mentoring, preventing, learning and empowering.” This project is funded by the Northeast Ohio Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization, and focuses on providing information about breast cancer, nutrition, and stress reduction to frican-American women over the age of 40.

Ms. Malone explains the socioeconomic differences that limit access to health care include poverty, a lack of education, myths about cancer and late diagnosis at a more advanced stage. These are among the factors contributing to the high incidence of colorectal cancer among minority populations.

Late stage diagnosis of cervical cancer has also contributed to higher mortality rates among underserved populations. However, the introduction of the Pap smear made cervical cancer a highly treatable disease. Unfortunately, the benefits of early detection are not shared by all segments of society.

Ms. Malone says, “Education is the key to prevention and early treatment.” When asked why University Hospitals has chosen to target the minority community, she responds, “When we look at who is getting sick and who is dying from cancer, it mirrors the diversity in the community around us. Given our location, and the incidence of cancer within the surrounding communities, we must look at minorities as we examine how to reduce cancer deaths among our citizens.”

Tanyanika Phillips, MD, Director, Department of Health Equity and Cancer Program, UH Ireland Cancer Center, is a physician-scientist with a specialty in thoracic geriatric oncology. She spent  considerable amount of time during her first year of work as director just listening. She went out into the community, attending meetings, speaking and working with groups who were committed to the education, treatment, and prevention of cancer. She explained that 75 percent of her work is focused on research, and 25 percent is spent in clinical practice treating older patients with lung cancer.

From her experiences in the community, she was eager to develop research questions that would help her identify where gaps and barriers in treatment and evaluation existed. She was concerned with what kind of research focus University Hospitals should have, who was being served, and how the hospital delivered care. Dr. Phillips explains that she works to determine where the needs are and how those needs should be addressed. “We research health services and process outcomes,” says Dr. Phillips. She is moving away from  efining disparities in disease and in health care. Dr. Phillips notes,“Thirty years of research tells us that there are disparities. We have already defined who needs service, now we need to understand how to serve them. The question is how do we achieve equity? How do we achieve an approach of oneness – in education and in treatment?”

When asked how the work being done by the Community Outreach Department at the Ireland Cancer Center complements her efforts, she responded, “We are certainly a team.” She explains that Hermione Malone was brought in as manager of community outreach, first to conduct strategic planning, and now for the purpose of community education and data collection. “Each department looks at ways in which the Ireland Cancer Center can garner information from outreach efforts and then translates that information into research questions that can be tested so effective programs can be developed,” she says.