By Amber Stewart
The Thelma D. Jones Breast Cancer Fund (TDJBCF) kicked off 2025 with a support group meeting via Zoom and Facebook centered on themes of advocacy and hope in the new year. Special guests for the kick-off included Deanna Darlington of Links2Equity, Andrea Roane, an award-winning journalist and cancer advocate, and Dr. Sara Horton of the Howard University Cancer Center.
Darlington, a Southwest resident and longtime TDJBCF supporter, served as the emcee, framing the evening’s conversation by reflecting on her career in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries and reminding the audience of the transformative power of advocacy, noting the opportunity to use skills acquired in advocating in one’s cancer journey to advocate for meaningful change in our communities. She emphasized that health equity needed to be a top priority from a policy standpoint based on the industries’ portfolio and commitment to patients.
Roane’s opening remarks included her award-winning work as a journalist with WUSA-9 for nearly 40 years which enabled her to advocate for preventative care. In 1993, she and the station’s health producer introduced the venerable Buddy Check 9 initiative, a monthly reminder to DC area residents to perform self-breast exams, regular mammograms, and clinical exams as important steps in the early detection of breast cancer. In her years of covering stories of individuals battling breast cancer, a valuable lesson learned was that often, the fear of the unknown is just as detrimental to individuals as the diagnosis.
Since the end of her tenure, Roane continues to advocate for preventative care. She noted: “Advocacy is what transforms individual stories into collective action; that is why we’re here. Advocacy is about using our voices to impact change. Whether that means pushing for policy reforms, increasing access to care, having the month of April being cancer prevention month, or simply being a source of strength for someone with a cancer diagnosis.”
Horton then shared her insights and discussed the meaning and importance of advocacy in addressing disparities in cancer care, particularly for marginalized communities such is where the TDJBCF has focused its efforts since its inception in 2010. Horton highlighted the need for increased participation in clinical trials and the importance of raising awareness about breast cancer. She also shared ways to advocate such as joining advocacy groups like the TDJBCF, among other notable groups she had worked with, and advocating for policy change. She also mentioned the importance of clinical research and the need for increased equitable access to clinical trials, noting the dismal representation of minorities in clinical trials.
“We can start to move the needle with clinical research: to try to encourage participation in clinical trials. We talk about the disparities and disparities being different outcome compared to another group with a disease. The only way we will be able to answer questions around these disparities is if we’re able to study Black women who have breast cancer, and we do that in a guise of a clinical trials.”
To see the video recording of the kick-off meeting, please visit https://fb.watch/xeDFs2F0ls and consider sharing your comments on the meeting.
The Southwest Business Improvement District (SWBID), a TDJBCF partner, will sponsor the meeting for the fourth consecutive year. The next TDJBCF support group meeting will be Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom and the TDJBCF Facebook Live. Join us as we celebrate Black History Month with the focus on men’s health, including breast cancer in men, multiple myeloma, colon, prostate, and lung cancer. For more details, email thelma@tdjbreastcancerfund.org.