Lightning Can Strike Twice: A National Partnership Promoting Breast Health among Women with Disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Women with disabilities are less likely to receive recommended screenings for breast cancer, which is often related to lack of knowledge about screening. Lightning Can Strike Twice was a project aimed at understanding barriers and improving knowledge about breast cancer screening among this population in the National Capital Region. OBJECTIVES: We describe a partnership between national organizations and an academic institution that provided educational workshops and coaching sessions to increase knowledge of breast cancer screening among this population in this region. METHODS: Twenty-two workshops and 56 coaching sessions were offered from 2017 to 2019. Presession surveys were used to collect data on participant demographics and barriers and postsession evaluations were used to determine improved knowledge and likelihood of scheduling a future screening. CONCLUSIONS: A total of 299 women attended the workshops and 56 women were coached over the 2-year project period. Preworkshop surveys assessed demographics and barriers among workshop participants and highlighted the need for education on obtaining a screening. Postworkshop evaluations showed that most participants strongly agreed that their understanding of the benefits of screening had increased and that they were more likely to schedule a screening. The national partners were able to address the lack of knowledge of breast cancer risks and screening among this population and identify future opportunities within the targeted community.

Promoting Scientist-Advocate Collaborations in Cancer Research: Why and How.

Advocates bring unique and important viewpoints to the cancer research process, ensuring that scientific and medical advances are patient-centered and relevant. In this article, we discuss the benefits of engaging advocates in cancer research and underscore ways in which both the scientific and patient communities can facilitate this mutually beneficial collaboration. We discuss how to establish and nurture successful scientist-advocate relationships throughout the research process. We review opportunities that are available to advocates who want to obtain training in the evaluation of cancer research. We also suggest practical solutions that can strengthen communication between scientists and advocates, such as introducing scientist-advocate interactions at the trainee level. Finally, we highlight the essential role social media can play in disseminating patient-supported cancer research findings to the patient community and in raising awareness of the importance of promoting cancer research. Our perspective offers a model that Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates have found effective and which could be one option for those interested in developing productive, successful, and sustainable collaborations between advocates and scientists in cancer research. Cancer Res; 78(20); 5723-8. ©2018 AACR.

Induction of labor and pain: a randomized trial between two vaginal preparations of dinoprostone in nulliparous women with an unfavorable cervix.

OBJECTIVE: To compare pain associated with vaginal dinoprostone pessary vs. gel for induction of labor in women with an unfavorable cervix. STUDY DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial in a large academic public general hospital. A total of 52 nulliparous women of gestational age ≥ 38 weeks, with Bishop score ≤ 4 and intact membranes were allocated either to a controlled-release vaginal dinoprostone pessary or repeat doses of vaginal dinoprostone gel. Pain was recorded hourly from early induction until the onset of labor. RESULTS: Mean pain experienced by women belonging to the two groups differed significantly (p < 0.01). Women in the controlled-release device group were also significantly more often severe pain-free than women receiving gel (p < 0.05). Both methods had similar rates of oxytocin infusion and vaginal deliveries. CONCLUSIONS: The two induction procedures should be considered equivalent as far as ripening the cervix and initiating labor. In view of this finding, the low Bishop score should be considered an indication to prefer the controlled-release device, since it reduces pain thereby improving the physical and emotional wellbeing of the parturient.