Network Pride

June is national LGBT Pride Month. We wish you all a fun and healthy Pride.

While we at the National LGBT Cancer Network are truly proud of our accomplishments this past year, we know how much remains to be done to reach our goal of eradicating cancer health disparities in LGBT communities. We are committed to continuing that work. Together, we know we can make a difference in the lives of LGBT people with cancer and those at risk.

Take Care of That Body goes NATIONAL

With or without funding, we are determined to develop the country's first comprehensive national directory of LGBT-friendly free/low cost cancer screening services. Our website already lists facilities in all five boroughs of New York City, but we plan to expand it to include places near YOU.

Parker, our summer intern, is contacting all our HUBs to collect this data for the website. If you have a facility in your area that you highly recommend, please tell Parker directly at staff@cancer-network.org. He can then describe our standards for inclusion in the directory.

Seeking Health Care Stories for Training Curriculum

The National LGBT Cancer Network is developing an LGBT cultural competence curriculum that will be required for all new NYC hospital staff, from surgeons to cleaning staff.

The heart of the training will be a 5-7 minute video. We are working with an award-winning filmmaker and director of photography. The film will use real life stories to show the medical and social value of offering culturally competent care, using both providers and LGBT people who have been patients.

Do you have a hospital healthcare story to tell? It can be positive, where you were treated in a respectful and welcoming way, or it can be a more difficult story, where you felt that LGBT ignorance or discrimination compromised the care you received. We are particularly interested in hearing from LGBT people of color.

We will be shooting the film in New York City on Saturday, June 26th. You will only need to be there for one hour or less.

For more information contact us at staff@cancer-network.org

New LGBT Cancer Survivor Support Groups

Since our last newsletter, we have learned about three new support groups for LGBT cancer survivors. All the groups are FREE. Keep us posted about new groups forming in your community so we can tell others.

1. The New Jersey LGBT Cancer Support Group meets on the second Friday evening of every month at the Pride Center in Highland Park. Click here for their web site and contact them here.

2. In Massachusetts, Facing Cancer Together and The Fenway Institute are collaborating on a new weekly LGBT cancer survivor group. For more information, click here or call Joyce Collier at (617) 332-5777.

3. CancerCare now offers an online LGBT cancer support group that is password protected, professionally moderated, and accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To register, go to www.cancercare.org and click on "Online Support Groups". To request membership in the group, you will first have to register as a member of CancerCare online. There are also plans to develop a face-to-face group in New York City.

Research Study Seeks Gay Prostate Cancer Surivors

The Boston University School of Public Health is seeking English-speaking gay men over 50 who were treated for prostate cancer more than 12 months ago to participate in a study of gay men's health experiences and outcomes. The survey should take between 45-60 minutes and all who complete the survey will receive $20. More information about the study can be found here.

Keeping up with the Network

Why wait for our newsletter to learn about the latest cancer research and the Network's projects? We are sending out useful information all the time. We also want to hear what you and your organizations are up to.

Find us and "like" us on our new Facebook fan page by clicking here and then clicking "like".

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The National LGBT Cancer Network works to improve the lives of LGBT cancer survivors and those at risk by:

EDUCATING the LGBT community about our increased cancer risks and the importance of screening and early detection;

TRAINING health care providers to offer more culturally-competent, safe and welcoming care; and

ADVOCATING for LGBT survivors in mainstream cancer organizations, the media and research

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