TAMPA, Fla. — Many are hopeful that putting more money towards cancer research and detection can help make a difference in lowering Florida's cancer rates.
Alma Gonzalez was inspired to volunteer for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network after losing her mother to breast cancer in 2011. She says by the time her mother was diagnosed, the cancer had spread.
“She, unfortunately, did not have access to good screening because she was a Latin woman living in a rural community and by the time they staged her, she was at stage 4, and she didn’t last very much longer. But she left us with this whole idea and value that it’s not enough to complain about something or feel bad about it. What are you going to do about it? If it matters, what action are you going to take?” Gonzalez said.
She's hopeful that the Biden administration's "Cancer Moonshot" initiative will offer more opportunities to save lives.
“To reignite this program is something that’s very exciting for us. The American Cancer Society is working really closely with the federal government to ensure that we draw down as many of those dollars as possible," Gonzalez said.
"Again, my concern is prevention and outreach for disadvantaged communities and minority communities [and] to make sure rural communities have access to healthcare. I believe that is what the Moonshot is about. Nobody understands Moonshots [more] than us in Florida,” she added.
ACS estimates there will be nearly 21,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022 and about the same number of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“When we put our resources where they belong and we educate people, and we give them access to care then those rates go down. And that’s why when I focus locally on the work of the American Cancer Society, I try to make sure that we are reaching out to Black and Hispanic women, Latinas in our community to make sure they have the information that they need and they have access to the care they need particularly now during COVID,” Gonzalez said.
Since she's bilingual, Gonzalez has been working to raise awareness in Black and Hispanic communities.
Whether you want to volunteer or you are looking for resources, you can see learn more about ACS programs here.
“I spent over 30 years in Tallahassee including lobbying the legislature and became very familiar with all of the leaders there and decision-makers, and I had the opportunity to meet the remarkable woman that was Mary Brogan who was the wife of our then Lieutenant Governor Frank Brogan," Gonzalez said. “She worked hard to make sure that others have access to care that she had, so it was very fitting for us, I think, to name this cancer prevention program in the name of such an amazing woman.”
You can learn more about The Florida Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, also known as the Mary Brogan Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, through the Florida Department of Health. The program provides free or low-cost screenings.
