October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an opportunity to increase awareness of breast cancer and its impact on women, families, and communities. In the United States, breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women and a leading cause of cancer death. Although advances in early detection and treatment have contributed to declining breast cancer mortality, important differences remain. Black and White women experience breast cancer at similar rates, yet Black women under 50 have a 111% higher mortality rate in comparison to White women, according to some studies.1
In September 2024, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a five-year cooperative agreement, Supporting Young Breast Cancer Survivors, Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients, and Their Families (CDC-RFA-DP-24-0061). A cornerstone of NACDD’s breast cancer work, the project strengthens psychosocial and educational support for young Black breast cancer survivors (YBCS) and metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) areas.
Through seven complementary strategies, NACDD and its partners connect survivors, healthcare providers, community-based professionals, state cancer programs, and national organizations through partnerships, education, outreach, resource dissemination, and policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) approaches.
In Year Two, NACDD and its partners moved from building the project’s foundation to expanding implementation across healthcare, public health, and community settings, while strengthening partnerships with national organizations and state cancer programs. Highlights include:
- Expanding resources and outreach for young survivors. Led by TOUCH, the project continued to enhance the Here for Our Blessties Resource Library, which has received more than 6,000 views. Through social media, web-based outreach, Facebook Live events, and in-person activities, the project has reached more than 63,500 breast cancer survivors, family members, and caregivers.
- Connecting survivorship with state cancer planning. In partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Breast Cancer in Young Adults program, NACDD co-convened a workgroup that includes cancer programs from eight states and jurisdictions. The group is developing model language that state cancer programs can adapt for inclusion in their Comprehensive Cancer Control Plans to strengthen attention to the psychosocial needs of young cancer survivors.
- Strengthening healthcare provider knowledge and skills. NACDD and the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC) launched the Young Breast Cancer Survivorship Series: A Five-Part Educational Webinar Series for Family Medicine Residency Programs, providing practical tools to strengthen primary care support as young breast cancer survivors transition from oncology to primary care. Both live and recorded sessions have been approved by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) for AAFP Prescribed credit.
- Moving education toward practice and systems change. NACDD and FMEC also launched Supporting Young Breast Cancer Survivors: A Family Medicine Didactic Training, a self-paced training that equips family medicine faculty, residents, and care teams with practical approaches to survivorship support. To date, 33 physicians have already participated in the training, and 28 programs and clinics are committed to delivering it. This work supports the project’s broader PSE strategy to integrate psychosocial resources and support into clinical practice.
Building on the Momentum
In Year Three, NACDD, TOUCH, FMEC, and other project partners will continue to expand survivor outreach, strengthen partnerships, and build healthcare provider and community-based support. NACDD and FMEC will also launch quality improvement initiatives, giving healthcare teams additional opportunities to apply what they have learned and strengthen survivorship care within practice settings.
Together, these efforts demonstrate NACDD’s role as a connector across the breast cancer survivorship landscape, bringing together survivors, national organizations, state cancer programs, healthcare providers, and community-based professionals to build a more connected and sustainable system of support for young breast cancer survivors.