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In 2023, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center awarded a $5,000 seed grant to Hitting Cancer Below the Belt (HCB2), a Midlothian, Va.-based nonprofit that has provided colorectal cancer (CRC) education and services since its founding in 2012. The seed grant is the first level of funding available through Massey’s Community Grant Initiative.

Mindy Conklin, M.S., M.Ed., the HCB2 founder and executive director, made CRC awareness her life’s work after her 43-year-old husband Rich Conklin passed away from it in January 2011. The HCB2 program director is Renee Malone, M.P.H. We asked Conklin and Malone to share their thoughts on the Community Grant Initiative and how it’s helped HCB2 expand their impact.

Mindy, how did HCB2 use the Massey seed grant in efforts to improve cancer outcomes across Virginia?

The HCB2 Provider Education and Training (PET) project is utilizing the Massey seed grant opportunity to increase provider-led discussion and recommendation for CRC screening made within our free clinic partner’s uninsured and low-income patient population. The grant also supports the creation of educational resources in both English and Spanish to better assist our partners in educating and raising screening rates among patients 45 years of age and older.

The Massey seed grant helped Hitting Cancer Below the Belt pay for the creation and translation of new educational materials in Spanish.

Renee, what has HCB2 learned from this partnership with Massey throughout 2023?

Since 2017, HCB2 has worked to reduce and eliminate major barriers to CRC screening among low-income and uninsured populations pertaining to screening access and cost for both stool-based testing and colonoscopy. Massey’s support has helped us to address one other major screening barrier pertaining to the lack of provider-led discussion and screening recommendation, and through this work we’ve also learned of additional issues surrounding patient navigation and language barriers that continue to affect timely screening.

A key component of raising screening rates is patient navigation, and having adequate support to carry out this task is critical. More successful navigation initiatives ideally consist of practices that strengthen staff capacity, create effective workflow templates, identify effective communication channels to reach patients and utilize quality electronic health record (EHR) systems to flag eligible or overdue patients, track both progress and challenges and report screening outcomes. For some patients, the language barrier is a persistent challenge. Consideration should be given for accommodating their needs via educational materials (including, for instance, materials in Portuguese for our clinic partner’s patient population) and through interpretation services. This practice is especially needed to ensure patients are able to secure bowel prep tools and have a successful prep for their colonoscopy.

The above continues to underscore that safety net partners and related community groups remain in great need of additional funding to establish successful screening and navigation programs that raise rates to timely screening, discover cancers at earlier stages and ultimately save lives.

Mindy, Massey uses a “community-to-bench” model to ensure more consistent integration of community input into Massey’s cancer research, education, care and policy initiatives. How does HCB2 intend to continue guiding Massey's work in the area of colorectal cancer?

HCB2 relies on communication and feedback from clinic partners to help evolve our education and screening programs. In addition to spreading screening and navigation best practices across clinic sites, this collective information is shared with local, regional and national cancer organizations, which also guide Massey’s work related to colorectal cancer. Ultimately, we hope our efforts not only result in better health outcomes for the patients served through our clinic partners but for all Virginians in need.

Renee, why should eligible community organizations pursue this funding from Massey?

Community organizations seeking to raise the level of conversation around colorectal cancer and other cancers may benefit from pursuing funding to implement provider and patient education initiatives regarding the importance of early detection, awareness of risk factors and symptoms and effective strategies to overcome some of the major barriers to timely screening.

About the Community Grant Initiative

Launched in Dec. 2021, Massey’s Community Grant Initiative helps community partners expand programs focused on the promotion of health, health equity, person-centered care across the cancer continuum from prevention through survivorship, while also reducing suffering from cancer. In line with Massey’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, the initiative awarded seven $5,000 seed grants in 2022 and six in 2023.

In addition to HCB2, these five organizations received 2023 seed grants:

• Baptist General Convention of Virginia (Richmond)
• Firefighter Cancer Support Network-Virginia (Richmond)
• Greater Norfolk Medical Society of South Hampton Roads (Norfolk)
• Us Giving Richmond Connections, Inc. (Richmond)
• Virginia Community Health Worker Association (Richmond)

Massey will score the applications for 2024 seed grants on merit and expects to announce up to five recipients on Feb. 13, 2024.

Interview and article by: Amy Lacey

This article is part of a series highlighting each of the six 2023 seed grant recipients.