First Stormin the Streets Niagara a Big Success!

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1 Community Connections July/August 2013 Volume No 4, Issue 6 First Stormin the Streets Niagara a Big Success! Cassandra Jackson poses with Billy Buffalo The Roswell Park (RPCI) Office of Cancer Health Disparities Research (OCHDR) and the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center (NFMMC) jointly presented the first NOW U KNOW: Stormin the Streets-Niagara event in June to promote cancer awareness within the City of Niagara Falls. Stormin the Streets is designed to empower minority and underserved communities by providing information that can help reduce the impact of cancer health disparities, while improving health outcomes, said Cassandra Jackson, the OCHDR s Niagara Falls Community Health Worker. The event made RPCI and NFMMC cancer experts, support staff, and advocates available to Niagara Falls residents who may not normally seek out cancer awareness information or services. Educational resources provided at the event included information about: early cancer detection and screening; which groups may be at higher risk of developing cancer; healthy eating and exercise; and participation in research. From left to right: Charles Walker (NFMMC), Niagara County Legislator Owen Steed, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, and Terry Alford (OCHDR, Community Relations Coordinator) Local Anti-Smoking Advocates Celebrate 10 Years of Clean Indoor Air Esperanza y Vida Receives- Susan G. Komen Grant Guy Talk! MAN UP Gears Up for 2013 Cruisin for a Cure Buffalo Good Luck to Our 2013 Summer Student Interns

2 Community Connections Local Anti-Smoking Advocates Celebrate Ten Years of Clean Indoor Air From left to right: Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Erie-Niagara Tobacco-Free Coalition Director Anthony Billoni, and City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown 2 A decade of breathing clean a cleaner environment and indoor air was celebrated on the healthier lungs for everyone. 10 th anniversary of the New York There was fierce opposition to State Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA). this law and many stated it would Western New York health leaders, be the end of the bar and restaurant business in New York State. restaurant and bar owners, health advocates, youth and public officials applauded the success However, the hospitality industry has flourished. of the groundbreaking law which laid the foundation for today s Andrew Hyland, PhD, Chair of the healthier communities. Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park Cancer Institute This statewide legislation made added, The 2003 Clean Indoor businesses, restaurants and bars Air Act has been an unqualified smoke-free and continues to save public health policy success. countless lives. CIAA improved Exposure to a toxin has been indoor air quality at public places dramatically reduced, the public which, in turn, has lowered health overwhelmingly supports the risks associated with secondhand policy, and the predicted smoke. economic collapse of the Erie County Executive Mark hospitality industry did not Poloncarz said, Today, we take occur. for granted the fact that people can t smoke in restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, offices, schools, and hospitals. The 10th anniversary of the Clean Indoor Air Act is an appropriate time to remember it wasn t always this way, and for the last ten years our residents, especially children, have enjoyed being in these places without having to endure secondhand Dr. Andrew Hyland smoke. Today we are celebrating Story & photos provided by Deb Pettibone

3 Volume 4, Issue 6 Esperanza y Vida Receives Susan G. Komen Grant Juliana Janson (center), WNY-affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Executive Director, presents grant award to Jomary Colon (right), EyV Project Coordinator and Isnory Colon (left), EyV Bilingual Navigator In July, the Western New York -affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced RPCI s Esperanza y Vida (EyV) as one of six local recipients of its 2013 Community Grants Program. Each grant awarded will address elements of unmet breast cancer needs throughout the community. Komen Western New York works with health care professionals and community leaders to identify gaps in breast health in underserved communities. The community grants selected for funding this year aim to positively impact breast health and breast cancer in the most vulnerable communities of Komen WNY's eight county service area. EyV, which received a grant totaling over $60,000, will use these funds to provide breast cancer awareness to over 500 men and women in the local Hispanic Latino community, as well as assist 200 women to receive a mammogram. Congratulations EyV! 3

4 Community Connections Guy Talk! In August, the 100 Black Men of Greater Buffalo, an OCHDR NOW U KNOW partner, hosted its first Guy Talk barbershop outreach event. Top (from left to right): Noel Sneed, James Payne, Terry Alford, Jerry Daniels, Sr., Jerry Daniels, Jr., Dr. Willie Underwood, Marlowe Wright Men just don t like going to doctors to talk about their health, said James Payne, President of the local chapter of the 100. They don't talk about it simply because they re scared, which is madness! Men are dying needlessly from preventable diseases. Guy Talk is a means to allow men to meet and talk with area health experts in the place most comfortable for some of them the barbershop. RPCI s Dr. Willie Underwood met with, and answered cancer-specific and general health questions from patrons of Carl-Jeff Barbershop, which is located at 859 Jefferson Ave. in Buffalo, New York. 4 Carl-Jeff s owner, widely considered as the Dean of local barbers, Mr. Jerry Daniels, Sr., is himself a prostate cancer survivor. We must do all we can to make men aware about the importance of talking to their doctors and getting routine screenings for such diseases as prostate cancer, said Mr. Daniels. I am looking forward in continuing to make my shop available for this purpose and encourage my fellow barbers to do likewise.

5 Volume 4, Issue 6 MAN UP Gears Up for 2013 Cruisin for a Cure Buffalo Above: Members of the OG Car Club in Niagara Falls participated in the 2nd Annual Cruisin for a Cure in 2012 Minorities Allied for the Need to Understand Prostate Cancer (MAN UP) announced that it is again teaming with RPCI and other community advocates to host the third annual Cruisin for a Cure Car Show and Screening event. All proceeds raised from this event will be donated to MAN UP, an RPCI-affiliated group of men committed to helping men of color make informed decisions about prostate cancer screening, treatment, and survivorship. The day will feature music, door prizes, raffles, and food vendors. Free prostate cancer education and screening will be offered for all men 40 years of age and older. Vehicles and clubs are welcome. The car show is open to all special vehicles, including cars, trucks, motorcycles. Registration cost for each vehicle is $10. Car show registration begins at 9:00 am. Awards will be presented on various categories. The event is planned for Saturday, September 28, 2013, beginning at 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. Prostate cancer screenings will begin at 11:00 am until 1:00 pm. Spectator admission for the car show, as well as all prostate screenings, are free. The event will take place on the RPCI campus located at Elm and Carlton Streets in Buffalo, New York. Car show vehicles will be located at street level near the RPCI hospital along Carlton Street, but in the event of rain, all vehicles will be located inside the RPCI main parking ramp. Prostate cancer education will be provided before screenings are conducted. Pre-registration for prostate screenings is encouraged; simply call ASK- RPCI ( ). For more information regarding the car show, call Terry Alford at (716) , or him at Terry.Alford@RoswellPark.org. 5

6 R O S W E L L P A R K C A N C E R I N S T I T U T E Roswell Park Cancer Institute The Carlton House, Room 308-A Elm & Carlton Streets Buffalo, New York Phone: Fax: Terry.Alford@roswellpark.org We re on the web! www. roswellpark.org/disparities/now-u-know Good Luck to Our 2013 Summer Student Interns! Cameron James Emily Ellmann Zoey Davis Over the past two months, the OCHDR mentored three students who participated in RPCI s annual Summer Student Internship Program. Cameron James, who will be a senior at Angelo State University in Texas this year, focused his project on developing an interactive prostate cancer education program specifically for African- American men looking to become certified lay health advisors. Emily Ellmann and Zoey Davis, who will both be WNY-area high-school seniors this year, worked on projects that focused on RPCI s Farmers Market and Community Showcase to learn how to make both initiatives more accommodating for local residents living in those neighborhoods immediately surrounding RPCI, as well as for lower-waged RPCI-employees. The OCHDR extends its best to all of you and your school years!