Tigerlily Foundation’s is committed to mobilizing our community of young women, care givers, and loved ones to transform lives. Through our Advocacy program we offer 2 foundational initiatives:
Young Women’s ‘Advocate Now to Grow, Empower & Lead’ (ANGEL) provides a comprehensive training for young women under the age of 45, so that they understand what breast cancer is, how it affects younger women, and learn how to get more involved in using their time and voices to make an impact. Our ANGEL Advocates are involved with speaking at events, are showcased in the media, advocating with policymakers, speaking on panels, sharing information on breast health and advocacy through their social media channels and engaging healthcare professionals. Many ANGEL’s are directly involved with developing our programs and partnering with research and scientific communities to ensure trials, studies, programs and content are relevant to their population. Our ANGELS advocates are making a powerful impact in our breast cancer communities, locally, nationally and globally.
The Young Women’s MBC ‘Advocate Now to Grow, Empower & Lead’ (ANGEL)is at the forefront of the charge to transform the way women of color all over the nation interact with MBC patients, policymakers, providers and the scientific community. The MBC ANGEL program focuses on women of color who are disproportionately impacted by MBC yet often go underrepresented in clinical trials and the conversation on the unique needs of women living with MBC. MBC ANGELs education and advocacy program utilizes a three-pronged approach towards ending breast cancer disparities by engaging young women of color that are breast cancer survivors, living with metastatic breast cancer or community members that are committed to breast cancer advocacy, health care providers and policymakers in the 20 cities with the greatest breast cancer disparities.
In 2019 Tigerlily launched the Young Women’s MBC Disparities Initiative (see objectives below). First, with our MBC Disparities Listening Summit, then the MBC ANGEL (Advocate Now to Grow, Empower & Lead) Advocate training, the Young Women’s MBC Disparities Alliance, and #ListenUpMBC Fireside Chat at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Young Women’s MBC Disparities Initiative’s Objectives
- Build a global platform that will end breast cancer disparities among young women of color in our lifetime.
- Facilitate conversations with MBC patients, experts, and partners to educate young women of color on MBC disparities.
- Demonstrate the importance of access to innovations in MBC treatments, including clinical trials for women of color, record the barriers and misperceptions faced by young women of color.
- Create partnerships, tools, content, messages, and methods to lower black breast cancer mortality rates.
- Mobilize a network of diverse MBC ambassadors and experts to partner with Tigerlily on how to best meet the needs of their community.
In 2020, Tigerlily’s #ListenUpMBC ConFab will advance stakeholder recommendations, which include engaging women of color in advocacy, leveraging social media, and participating in scientific conferences. We aim to share the importance of access to innovations in MBC treatments, including clinical trials and genetic testing for women of color towards achieving our goal through action and collaboration.
The MBC Angel Program consists of 10 online modules, which include exploring the role of social determinants of health in MBC disparities and outcomes for black women, guidelines, access to innovations, social media mobilization, healthy behaviors, and patient empowerment. It leverages evidenced-based, award-winning models to empower patients to create partnerships, tools, content, messages, and methods through education and advocacy to lower breast cancer mortality rates for women of color.
Project Description
MBC ANGELs education and advocacy program utilizes a three-prong approach to end breast cancer disparities by targeting three main population groups: young women of color that are current breast cancer survivors and metastatic breast cancer patients or passionate members of the community that are interested in breast cancer, health care providers and policymakers in the 20 cities with the greatest breast cancer disparities.
The 3 part program consists of MBC ANGELs, Empower!: recruitment and training; MBC ANGELs, Educate!: community outreach and provider education; and MBC ANGELs, Mobilize!: advocacy and social media activation.
MBC ANGELs, Empower!
Modeled after the evidenced-based award-winning cancer lay health advisor programs DC Pink Divas and the Save our Sisters in North Carolina, the MBC ANGELs program consist of a ten-month training that first recruits and then empower 20 women with skills and knowledge about social determinants of health, disparities, health equity, breast cancer risk factors, screening, treatment, healthy behaviors, and patient empowerment. This 20-hour, 10-part training walks women through the cancer continuum of care stages by covering topics from screening to end of life care. MBC ANGELs gain new insight into breast cancer while integrating their personal experiences into further education, empowerment, and understanding of the healthcare system and barriers to care. MBC ANGELs also receive peer support through MBC ANGEL Advisors who are seasoned patient advocates that live and are active leaders in the 20 cities with the greatest breast cancer disparities. Activities include two-way dialogues with nationally renowned experts, oncologists, and geneticists with materials and a social media content curated by and for young women of color.
MBC ANGELs, Educate!
Upon completion of the training, each of the 20 MBC ANGELs commit to build partnerships with at least three organizations from their 20 cities and reach out to women in their community. MBC ANGELs will team with our award-winning patient advocacy team to host more significant than 60 Local MBC education and outreach activities, develop more than 12 MBC advocate resources, participate in over 20 conferences. MBC ANGELs will identify, plan, and implement breast cancer education activities through community networks in which they belong, such as church, civic, employer, and social groups. This experience enables participants to convert their understanding into practical application by creating educational materials and events that are culturally competent and catered explicitly to women residing in their respective cities. MBC ANGELs will lead at least three activities such as local #ListenUpMBC Summit, lunch and learns, roundtable discussions, and engage at local support groups and social activities to educate young women of color in their city.
MBC ANGELs, Mobilize!
A key issue faced by women of color is fear of the health system, distrust, and provider insensitivity. And while black women die over 40% more from metastatic breast cancer and are diagnosed younger and with more aggressive types of breast cancer, studies show many believe that it is an “old white women’s disease”. To combat these myths, barriers, and inequities, advocacy to policymakers and social media engagement is vital. MBC ANGELs will engage with policymakers through our Young Women’s Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance to address issues in the health care system that can be improved through dialogue, education, and subsequent policy change. Based on feedback obtained from MBC ANGELs, our demographic-specific #ListenUpMBC Summit, Fireside Chat, and Twitter Chat to date have garnered over 16 million impressions. The upcoming #MBCLivesHere social media campaign and online resources addressing cultural sensitivity and specific barriers will engage advocates to show how MBC has no boundaries or borders, impacting every community and how we can take action to achieve breast health equity for all. Ultimately, policymakers will gain insight into the experience of young women of color to end institutional and health care system disparities, and MBC ANGELs will gain firsthand knowledge to become effective patient advocates. Additionally, MBC ANGELs receive access to meetings with industry leaders, annual scientific convenings, and opportunities to attend provider-led training and educational events to foster knowledge exchange and reverse innovation.
Interested in becoming a Tigerlily ANGEL? Let’s get in touch. e-mail info@tigerlilyfounfation
