Stephanie Walker
Residing in a rural area since 2017 has sparked my desire to provide a service to those diagnosed with breast cancer. It was in 2018 that the side effects of cancer treatments took hold and altered my life. With no where to turn for help, online research for hundred of hours provided the information, resources and support I needed to get through the rough patch. Now providing the information to empower others with knowledge to make better decisions for treatment and survivorship. Black men and women with MBC in these areas are important as our voices are usually overlooked, ignored, shamed or forgotten but no more. We want to be there for decisions about care, we want to be involved in clinical trials, decisions being made about how our bodies react to treatment and the cancer itself. We want to know. A member of the MBCA Executive Group, I am project lead on the BECOME (Black Experience of Clinical Trial and Opportunities for Meaningful Engagement) initiative, an LBBC Helpline/HMV volunteer, a SG Komen AIS volunteer and many more. As a valued member of several efforts in the community in which I live, I want to say that mental health is important and shouldn’t be discounted or dismissed. I want to help—to be there and to say that no one should go through this alone.
Jumping hurdles to get the treatments you want is the reality for people living with MBC. Add systemic racism into the healthcare mix and it’s clear that more needs to happen, and soon, to create equity and greater diversity in one of the most important tools in the MBC toolbox: clinical trials. In this episode, we check in with Stephanie Walker, who led the BECOME project and spearheads the Black Wo(Men) Speak Symposium, patient advocate and clinical trial participant Rev. Dr. Tawana Davis, and Patient Navigator Valarie Worthy. How does systemic racism affect what Black patients learn about MBC clinical trials? And how can those who need it most break down barriers to the best care?