Breast and Cervical Cancer

The Community Wellness Project (CWP) received a small grant to provide Breast and Cervical Cancer information titled “Stand Against Cancer” Initiative. This statewide Illinois Department of Public Health initiative was created to ensure that African American and Hispanic women, regardless of their health circumstances or ability to pay, have access to basic information and preventative screening services to identify breast and cervical cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages.CWP has provided hundreds of women with this vital information and referral services in the southern Illinois region and with the support of the community and other service providers have reach those women who are under-served rural African American and Hispanic women whom suffer from these diseases at disproportionate rates.

What is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is cancer that forms in cells of the breast. the breast consists of lobules (glands that make breast milk), ducts (small tubes that carry milf from the lobules to the nipple), fatty and connective tissue, blood vessels and lymph vessels.The milk-producing ducts and glands are the two most likely areas to develop cancerous cells. In rarer cases, breast cancer begins in fatty tissues, also known as stromal tissues. Breast cancer may also occur in surrounding lymph notes, especially those of the underarm.

Common Breast Cancer Symptoms

Symptoms of breast cancer can vary from person to person. Some common breast cancer signs and symptoms include:

• Skin changes, such as swelling, redness, or other visible differences in one or both breasts.
• An increase in size or change in the shape of the breast(s).
• Changes in the appearance of one or both nipples.
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk.
• General pain in/on any part of the breast.
• Lumps or nodes felt on or inside of the breast.

Good breast care includes:

Breast self examinations

Clinical breast examinations

Mammograms

What is Cervical Cancer?

Cervical cancer begins in the cervix, the narrow organ at the bottom of the uterus that connects to the vagina. The cervix dilates during childbirth to allow for passage of a baby.

Who is at risk?

• A woman’s sexual habits and patterns can increase her risk of cervical cancer. These include:
• Having sex at an early age
• Having multiple sexual partners
• Having partners who participate in high-risk sexual activities
• Not getting the HPV vaccine.

Common Cervical Cancer Symptoms

• Abnormal vaginal bleeding
• Unusual heavy discharge
• Pelvic painPain during urination
• Pain during sex
• Bleeding between periods, after sex, douching, or pelvic exams

Stay in good health by:

• Communicating with your doctor to better manage your breast and cervical cancer risk and receiving the right kind of care when needed. Your doctor can tell you more about the recommended screening guidelines and help you decide what is best for you.
• Exercise and maintain a healthy weight and diet.
• Reduce or limit your alcohol intake. Heave drinking is linked to an increase in breast cancer.

This project was funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Center for Minority Health Services – Contract 30180066A-PBC#13-76843

Super Heros

CWP’s Super Heroes program also provides opportunities for our clients to refer their friends and family members to HIV/STD testing and screening services in a safe comfortable and confidential environment and receive an incentive for doing so. This peer navigation program allows clients to give back to their community by staying in the fight to eliminate the HIV epidemic by investing in the concept of keeping communities free from new HIV/STD infections.

Counseling, Testing and Treatment Services

In order to effectively reach priority populations in environments acceptable and accessible to them, CWP has initiated its outreach and in-reach testing program. This initiative allows our outreach team of experts to identify, recruit, council and test individuals right where they live. The test takes only one minute of your time. All preliminary HIV-positive individuals receive confirmatory testing, and if determined HIV+, are promptly linked to HIV treatment and support services. To learn more about this test and other testing or treatment services, contact us today. Walk-ins and appointments available daily. PrEP/nPEP/PEPCWP strongly believes in the concept of ending new HIV infections in the United States. Members from the community who test HIV negative receive free HIV prevention and support services, including PrEP and PEP. This revolutionary drug can eliminate and essentially end the HIV epidemic. But we cannot do it without your help. If you are HIV negative, but currently sexually active and consider yourself at-risk for HIV, consider getting on PrEP. Click here to learn more.

The CWP Midwestern Prevention Intervention Center (MPIC) Training and Capacity Building Services

The Midwestern Prevention interventions Center (MPIC) provides health departments, community-based and AIDS service organizations, federal government agencies, and other community stakeholders nationally and internationally, program development, skills-building training and support services. These courses are designed to build the infrastructure and capacity of agencies and their staff to successfully implement a wide variety of programs and services in urban and rural communities.

Fundamentals HIV/AIDS/STD 101 Course

This 3-day course was developed with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is geared toward health department and community based organization staff including: health educators; peer navigators; intervention specialist; counseling testing and referral specialist (CTRS), and others who provide HIV/AIDS, STD, and Hepatitis C education. Participants will leave with the ability to share the facts about HIV/AIDS accurately and in culturally sensitive and non-judgmental ways. Participants will be equipped with the skills needed how to facilitate HIV/AIDS fact based discussions with individuals, groups, and in community settings.

Basic Facilitation Skills Course

This 3-day skills building course was developed with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is geared toward health department and community based organization staff including: health educators; peer navigators; intervention specialist; counseling testing and referral specialist (CTRS), and others who provide HIV/AIDS, STD, and Hepatitis C education. This course is designed to enhance knowledge and skills relative to facilitating small and large group sessions effectively. This course utilizes a very interactive format which includes group, pair and individual activities.  The activities range from developing strategies and handling challenging group participants, to demonstrating techniques utilized in conducting group sessions.

Enhanced Training and Facilitation Skills Course

The 3-day course was designed to enhance the skills of seasoned facilitators and trainers’ who conduct trainings and/or are responsible for managing staff who implement and facilitate  Effective Behavioral Interventions (EBIs,) and other related programs.  This course includes group, pair and individual activities.  The activities include a review of the various facilitation skills; teaching strategies; identification of the qualities and characteristics desired to become an effective trainer, and understanding how to effectively work with a co-trainer to implement EBIs and other programs with fidelity.

Sisters Informing Sisters about Topics on AIDS (SISTA)

This 4-day course has been designed to train individuals who want to become a community facilitator of the Sisters Informing Sisters about Topics on AIDS (SISTA) intervention.The SISTA project is a social-skills training intervention for African American women. It is aimed at reducing HIV sexual risk behavior. It is comprised of five 2-hour sessions, delivered by peer facilitators in a community-based setting. The sessions are gender specific and culturally relevant and include behavioral skills practice, group discussions, lectures, role playing, Prevention video viewing and take-home exercises.

By the end of this 4-day training, facilitator trainees will be able to: Implement and facilitate the SISTA intervention for women in their communities; identify and describe the two behavioral theories that underlie the SISTA intervention;  identify and describe the 7 core elements of the SISTA intervention; identify and use effective communication skills, facilitation skills and teaching strategies for the implementation of the SISTA intervention, and identify and use culturally specific session enhancements within the SISTA intervention.