June 12, 2024
Salon Topic:
Black Women and Breast Cancer: Gendered Racism, and the Power of Community-Empowered Resistance
Salon Guests:
Bridgette Hempstead & Leah Marcotte, MD, MS
Salon Description:
What do we miss when we talk about Black women’s breast cancer experiences only through the prism of racism, rather than the intersection of racism and sexism (as well as heterosexism and class oppression)? That’s just one of the many provocative questions that this much anticipated salon will address after we watch the video, Anti-racism in Oncology: Episode 1, a collaboration between Cierra Sisters, an organization that our esteemed guest, Ms. Bridgette Hempstead founded 28 years ago, and Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle, WA.
We are honored to host as our guests for our June 2024 salon, Ms. Bridgette Hempstead, the CEO and Founder of Cierra Sisters, a breast cancer and support organization for Black women living with breast cancer, and her academic research partner, Dr. Leah Marcotte, MD, MS an Assistant Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Washington. They’ll talk about the inspiring community-led work that Cierra Sisters is doing to advocate for more equitable breast cancer care, treatment, and prevention for Black women; the importance of community-empowered and community-engaged research and breast cancer programs for Black women, and the trials and tribulations (and joys) of community-academic research partnerships.
Guest Bio:
Bridgette Hempstead founded Cierra Sisters shortly after her own diagnosis. It is a breast cancer survivor and support organization. The name is rooted in African origins; “Cierra” meaning “knowing”, reminding us that knowledge is in fact power.
The mission of Cierra Sisters is to break the cycle of fear and increase knowledge concerning breast cancer in the African-American and underserved communities.
Cierra Sisters has, for over 24 years been a wellspring of support and life-saving information for African American women living with breast cancer.
This is achieved via large scale presentations, consistent one-on-one’s with healthcare professionals, and diverse outreach efforts.
Dr. Leah Marcotte is a primary care physician and health services researcher in the Division of General Internal Medicine. Her research focus is to develop and test innovative primary care delivery approaches among populations who face barriers to access and health inequities. She is interested in learning health systems research—working with health systems to directly integrate research methods and evaluations into healthcare operations. She is currently part of an interdisciplinary research team working to address inequities in breast cancer screening using human-centered design and implementation science approaches.
Dr. Marcotte enjoys mentoring and advising medical students, residents, and fellows interested in health services research and welcomes email requests to learn more about research opportunities.
https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2023/12/new-video-series-delves-into-racism-in-cancer-care.html