Supporting Young Breast Cancer Survivors, Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients, and their Families - Young Survival Coalition (YSC), founded in 1998, is a nonprofit dedicated to young adults diagnosed with breast cancer and their co-survivors (caregivers, family members, significant others, and friends). Through educational resources and programming, annual conferences and local and online support networks, YSC ensures no young adult faces breast cancer alone. YSC’s mission is to strengthen the community, address the unique needs, amplify the voice, and improve the quality of life of young adults affected by breast cancer. YSC proposes a five-year, initiative entitled Project IMPACT – Innovative, Meaningful Partnerships Addressing the Continuum of Needs Throughout the Young Breast Cancer Community to address the critical gaps in support services for young breast cancer survivors (YBCS) and metastatic (MBC) patients, with a particular emphasis on serving African American, Latinx, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI), Indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ communities. Key project partners will include Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Triage Cancer, SelfMade Health Network, Wisconsin Cancer Collaborative, Rathkopf LLC, National LGBTQI+ Cancer Network, Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance, Knology, TOUCH the Black Breast Cancer Alliance, Nueva Vida, Breast Cancer Hawaii, Tigerlily Foundation, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, FORCE, Sharsheret, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During the course of the project (October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2029) YSC will: 1) Enhance engagement and participation of nongovernmental organizations with YSC Council of Advisors. 2) Build a relationship with the Wisconsin Cancer Collaborative and develop an expanded Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) collaboration plan. 3) Scale and enhance Survivorship 360, YSC’s year-round, multi-pronged educational and support services. 4) Provide healthcare institutions and accreditation bodies with patient-informed data from YSC’s comprehensive YBCS/MBC patient needs assessment, Project 528. 5) Provide CME-accredited trainings and printed materials to Health Care Providers (HCPs) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs). 6) Increase and improve easily accessible, tailored resources and trainings to equip community healthcare workers and patient navigators to provide equitable and quality care for the YBCS/MBC patient community; and 7) Create new individualized psychosocial support through Digital Health Hubs with specialized media that center on each diverse population’s unique experiences, facilitate an inaugural Group Coaching Psychosocial Support cohort, and increase peer-professional support to our existing Virtual Support Groups. In the short-term, the outcomes YSC will aim for will be to 1) increase engagement and participation of nongovernmental organizations with YSC Council of Advisors; 2) increase activities and knowledge-sharing with CCCs; 3) increase HCP and LCSW learnings applied in practice from culturally appropriate CME-accredited trainings and printed materials; and 4) increase systemic policy, system, and environmental changes based on patient-informed data. Intermediate-term, YSC will increase the use of accessible, tailored resources and trainings to equip healthcare workers to provide equitable and quality care. Long-term, YSC will 1) increase the number of people actively engaged in Survivorship 360, YSC’s year-round, multi-pronged educational and support initiative; 2) increase the use of tailored support services for African American, Latinx, AANHPI, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ communities; and 3) increase the number of YBCS and MBC patients reporting a higher quality of life.
