Reducing cancer risk in the community
By Debra Ruder
Lunchtime at Tympanium Corp. in Malden, Mass., offers a welcome diversion from soldering, assembling, and testing parts for small engines. Workers — most of them women — gather to enjoy light meals and laughs in the corner of the factory. Today, however, there's something different. Against one wall is a table spread with broccoli, fish sticks, and other grocery items; buttons urging workplace safety; and bright posters promoting healthful eating.
During their breaks, some of the employees approach the table and take turns selecting items for a pretend meal. They chat with a health educator about the value of eating fruits and vegetables, avoiding red meat, and taking multivitamins; and they help themselves to bowls of fresh melon.
Kim Sosny (at left in photo) of the Center for Community-Based Research helps a Tympanium Corp. employee make healthful food choices.
The display is part of an ongoing research project at Tympanium and other small businesses in Massachusetts designed to encourage workers to eat better, exercise, and quit smoking — and, ultimately, reduce their chances of developing cancer. Another aim is to help managers enhance policies and conditions to protect their employees and support healthful habits.
"Healthy Directions — Small Businesses" is one of many studies currently being led by Dana-Farber's Center for Community-Based Research (CCBR), a nationally recognized group that examines the most effective ways to lower cancer risk. Its goals are to alter potentially harmful behaviors, minimize exposures to cancercausing substances in the environment, and increase early detection through cancer screenings, such as mammograms and colonoscopies.
What distinguishes the center from its peers is its outreach to low-income, bluecollar, and ethnically diverse populations — those at higher risk for certain cancers and for whom health-promotion campaigns have traditionally failed. The CCBR's success lies in combining rigorous science and innovative community partnerships with employers, health-care centers, churches, labor unions, and other organizations.
"We are one of the few places in the country that focuses on developing cancer-prevention interventions to help address some of the social inequalities in cancer risk," notes the center's director, Glorian Sorensen, PhD, MPH. "We try to understand how the social context of people's lives influences their health behaviors, their exposures to hazards, and their likelihood of getting screened."
As it advances knowledge about cancer prevention and control, the center's research often has a direct impact on participants' lives. One of them is Margie Mamzur of Revere, a long-time Tympanium employee who kicked the smoking habit after 35 years with the help of nicotine patches and a support group arranged by the CCBR. "I tried to quit cold turkey before, but it didn't work," Mamzur attests. "This really works. I feel good."
- Next: A growing operation
- Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
