How tough cancer conversations reach communities
From left, Samrat Sanghvi, MD, a radiation oncologist for the Cancer & Blood Specialists of Arizona in Casa Grande, and Alejandro Recio Boiles, MD, clinical assistant professor of medicine in the College of Medicine – Tucson and for the University of Arizona Cancer Center and the assistant director of COE, speak about colorectal cancer to the community in Casa Grande during a Let's Taco 'Bout Cancer event.
Cancer Center Community Outreach and Engagement brings effective cancer education to southern Arizona
Cancer is not one of the easier dinner topics––nor is it typically a favorite during lunch.
But Monica Yellowhair, Namoonga Mantina and the staff of the Cancer Center Community Engagement (COE) Core have taken what was once taboo and brought it acceptably to the table with their successful Let’s Taco ‘Bout Cancer series.
Coalescing during COVID-19
The series started when COE began the herculean process of navigating as cancer outreach and health educators when community members could not leave their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We decided to develop a lunch webinar and invite community members to bring their lunch and have tacos with us and talk about cancer online,” said Yellowhair, PhD, interim associate director for the Cancer Center Community Outreach and Engagement.
The lunch talks were a hit, attracting people from across Arizona and even California to learn more about cancer from experts–community partners, cancer survivors, oncologists, and cancer researchers.
“After the pandemic, we decided to take the online seminar series on the road. We always thought it would be a great idea to have tacos trucks there to support local businesses,” Yellowhair said. “And if you bring the food, people will come.”
“We were surprised how well the initiative transitioned from online to in person,” said Mantina, MPSH, MBA, COE outreach manager.
Community members sign in for the Casa Grande Let's Taco 'Bout Cancer event.
In 2024, the team has held nine Let’s Taco ‘Bout Center events throughout the service area of the cancer center involving six community partners. They have covered events in Yuma, Casa Grande, Nogales, downtown Tucson and with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, covering topics such as leukemia and blood cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and others.
“Our outreach program is built on collaboration, and we bring these events to different communities through partnerships,” Mantina said. “Our partners help us in planning the logistics––from identifying the ideal date and time, selecting a venue and local food vendor to promoting the event within their communities and networks. They also assist in identifying local community members who are cancer patients or survivors to serve as potential speakers.”
Mantina said that the events introduce the cancer center to the community and show people that they are not alone in their questions or experiences.
“It introduces the importance of prevention and early detection and treatment so they can thrive,” Mantina said.
Offering tacos and colorectal cancer education in Casa Grande
Left, Mary Gonzales talks to community members during the Let's Talk about Cancer event at Casa Grande.
Mary Gonzales, a nutrition educator for the University Arizona – Pinal County Extension and a COE Community Advisory Board member, helped organize the Let’s Taco ‘Bout Cancer event on colorectal cancer at the Seeds of Hope Mondo Anaya Community Center in Casa Grande last spring. About 30 people filled the hall for the event to learn about cancer in a familiar environment with their neighbors while enjoying tasty tacos from a local business.
“I believe these educational events are vital to ensure community members have the knowledge and resources to live a long and healthy life,” Gonzales said. “Community members need to meet the oncologists. They need to meet people from the COE so that they understand that these people are trusted.”
Dr. Recio Boiles speaks after lunch during Let's Talk 'Bout Cancer event in Casa Grande.
Panelists for the event were Cancer Center member Alejandro Recio Boiles, MD, clinical assistant professor of medicine in the College of Medicine – Tucson and for the University of Arizona Cancer Center and the assistant director of COE, and Samrat Sanghvi, MD, a radiation oncologist for the Cancer & Blood Specialists of Arizona in Casa Grande.
“I think it's very important that physicians are out there,” said Recio Boiles. “We have been receiving a long education to do more than that––to educate our patients, to help them in their needs, to prevent cancer, to prevent illnesses, to promote a healthy lifestyle. I really feel that we as physicians have to come out and talk to them, as they do live in places where they don't have a way to reach to us, in rural communities.”
Recio Boiles has served on the panel at several of the Let’s Taco ‘Bout Cancer events throughout the catchment area. He thinks that the events offer valuable feedback for him of what his patients and community members need, what they are suffering and what questions they are asking.
“I feel very responsible being the monolingual Spanish or Spanish as first language to talk to them, to help them understand, to break some myths, to learn something together,” he said.
Gonzales said the event at Casa Grande allowed attendees to engage with an oncologist and seek more information.
“After the session, people came up and told me that they really valued the information. They thought it was well presented,” she said. It was easy to understand. They enjoyed how, and I'll just quote one of the participants, they enjoyed how laid back the physicians were and how comfortable they made them feel about especially the importance of getting colonoscopies.”
Dr. Recio Boiles discusses colorectal cancer at the Let's Taco 'Bout Cancer event.
Yellowhair said that the Let’s Taco ‘Bout Cancer events allow their team to bring resources into communities and for them to ask questions.
“We will continue to offer them in the communities, changing topics and themes so they learn more about cancer,” she said. “By equipping them with more information, we hope that they will know that the University of Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Center is a place that cares about them and offers the best care that comes from innovative researchers, important clinical trials and caring and forward-thinking clinicians.”