The Black Wo(Men) Speak Symposium was initiated as a response to the BECOME (Black Experience of Clinical Trials and Opportunities for Meaningful Engagement) survey conducted by the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA) which found that 8 out of 10 Black people living with metastatic breast cancer would consider participating in clinical trials, but that only 36% of those same people were receiving as much information as they wanted.
The MBCA is only one of four organizations that recently conducted similar research surveys. The three other organizations — TOUCH, the Black Breast Cancer Alliance, For the Breast of Us, and Carrie’s TOUCH — along with The Missing Pink Breast Cancer Alliance are partnering with the MBCA to offer this important educational event.
The overarching goal of the Symposium is to educate the community-at-large — Healthcare Providers (HCPs); Pharma, Researchers, and Clinical Research Organizations (CROs); and Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Patients, Caregivers, and Advocates — about the urgent need for greater diversity in clinical trials. By sharing and examining the data gathered in the four surveys, the event aims to better inform its audience of the current barriers to clinical trial participation, to inspire greater trust in the healthcare system to provide equitable care regardless of race, and to ensure access to clinical trials to a population that is more representative of all patients. The Symposium also aims to empower the Black patient community to speak up regarding clinical trial options.
The day will begin with a keynote address by Dr. Lola Fayanju, Chief of Breast Surgery at Penn Medicine, on increasing diversity in clinical trials followed by a presentation of findings from the four research projects. The remainder of the agenda, emceed by Dr. Monique Gary, Medical Director of the Cancer Program at Grand View Health, is being developed around the three topic areas/target audiences — HCPs, clinical research, and people living with MBC and their caregivers — and will feature speakers and panel discussions aimed at these groups.
Download an overview of the Symposium
