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education Arabic women educate each other about early detection with Tell A Friend A woman giving other women advice is a familiar concept, one that the American Cancer Society is harnessing with a program called Tell A Friend. In this program, women are trained to talk with others about breast cancer screening and early detection. The trainees then go out in the community and ask their friends and family to get mammograms and spread the word. 
In 2004, this "peer counseling" strategy was introduced to the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) in Dearborn, Michigan, which has the largest Arab-American population in the country. The community center provides a medical lab, pharmacy, clinic, mental health, social services, and more to everyone in the surrounding area. Working with the local American Cancer Society area service center in metro Detroit, they tested the waters with Tell A Friend by asking 20 women to participate. Hiam Hamade, RN, who works with ACCESS as the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program outreach coordinator, recruited and trained the women from different Arabic countries to get a cross section of the population. These women were then charged with going out in the community to educate five other women. An educational program to fit the culture Arabic people are most comfortable getting information from someone they know, so the Tell A Friend program is a good fit for their culture. The Arabic population in Dearborn has a lower level of education than the general population and cancer is rarely discussed. Women’s modesty is held in high regard, making breast and cervical cancer sensitive subjects. However, through the Tell A Friend program, women assured each other that only other women would perform the cancer screenings. "They trust each other," explained Hiam. "Once someone in the community tells them something, they take it into consideration and then apply it." As women in the community spread the word, some began to even approach ACCESS, asking for information and screenings on their own. "Before, I went door to door," said Hiam. "Now I find the program is so successful, I’m receiving calls." ACCESS is equipped to meet their requests with American Cancer Society brochures translated in Arabic and English, and a mobile mammography unit that can travel to surrounding areas. As a result from additional Tell A Friend groups, ACCESS reached 2,000 women with early detection education last year. Roughly 1,500 received breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings, either with their own insurance or through the federally and state funded Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program. For most women, it was their first cancer screening. ACCESS is also partnering with the American Cancer Society on other initiatives, such as Colorectal Awareness Networks, to reach out to people with colorectal cancer information, and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Their director, Adnan Hammad, is on the American Cancer Society Great Lakes Division’s Board of Directors. Ms. Hamade recommends any minority population to try Tell A Friend, and would be happy to help other areas begin the program. "The only thing they need is someone to start," she said. To learn more about Tell A Friend, log on to www.cancer.org or call 800-ACS-2345. | |
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