One-on-one peer coaching/support programs hold promise in promoting healthy outcomes among women at risk for and surviving with breast cancer, with the potential to bridge gaps in “whole person care.” Although popularly cited for their benefits, emerging evidence is mixed and suggests that peer support program impacts may be attenuated by individual- and community-specific factors. We evaluated a national not-for-profit breast cancer organization’s peer support program outcomes (2015–2018) serving women from predominantly Jewish backgrounds to examine program engagement, facilitation, and satisfaction. Of the N = 392 women sampled, 37% utilized the peer support program: the majority were referred by a family member/friend (40%) or had connected with the program online (34%). Logistic regression modeling revealed that mothers (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04 to 3.19), women at increased genetic risk for breast cancer (OR = 2.07; 95% CI = 1.08 to 3.94), and those who connected with the organization through a family member/friend (OR = 1.97; 95% CI = 1.23 to 3.15) were significantly more likely to utilize peer support (all p’s < .05). Satisfaction with peer support was high and reliably measured (M = 42.8 out of possible 50; α = .95). These findings emphasize opportunities for peer support programs to serve a range of needs among breast cancer previvors and survivors and increase health care’s organizational capacity to reach and impact this community through trusted and well-trained lay coaches.

Approximately 12% of women living in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetimes. While all women face formidable challenges posed by the threat of living with or at increased risk for breast cancer, those of Ashkenazi Jewish descent face additional challenges owing to higher BRCA1/2 mutation prevalence in this population. Amidst calls for population-based screening for hereditary breast cancer risk, much can be learned from the experiences of Jewish women about their needs. The present study is a secondary analysis of psychoeducational program satisfaction and evaluation data previously collected by a community organization dedicated to serving women of all Jewish backgrounds facing, or at risk for, breast cancer. Among respondents (n = 347), over one-third were referred to the organization by family or friends, most often after a cancer crisis. Of the information and support resources offered, the greatest level of engagement occurred with the one-on-one peer support and health care symposia resources. Respondents endorsed high levels of satisfaction with the programs and services, and a strong desire to give back to the community. These data suggest that culturally-relevant information and support services for Jewish women could be scaled-up for larger dissemination to meet the anticipated needs in this special population.

About 1 in 40 Ashkenazi Jewish women carry a deleterious mutation in BRCA1/2 genes, predisposing them to hereditary breast/ovarian cancer (HBOC). Thus, efforts to prevent and control HBOC in the US must include sufficient outreach and education campaigns within and across the Jewish community. Social media (SM) is utilized in public health campaigns focused on cancer, but very little is known about the efficacy of those efforts when directed toward Jewish women at risk for (“previvors”) and affected by (“survivors”) HBOC. Here, we report on outcomes of a targeted SM campaign for this population, as led by a national not-for-profit HBOC advocacy organization. Mixed-methods data were obtained from n = 393 members of the community, including n = 20 key informants, and analyzed for engagement and satisfaction with its SM campaign and HBOC resources. Message recipients identified the SM campaign as helpful/meaningful (82%), of ‘newsworthy’ value (78%), and actionable/navigable (71%): interviews revealed that women were more likely to engage with SM if/when it featured stories relevant to their personal cancer experiences. SM is a valuable public health education tool to address the comprehensive cancer control and prevention needs of those previving and surviving with HBOC, including high-risk Jewish women.

Background: Information and social support for women at risk for and surviving breast cancer are essential components of comprehensive clinical and public health practice in breast cancer prevention, control, and treatment. Jewish women in the US are a population of special concern due to their increased hereditary breast cancer risk for carrying BRCA1/2 gene mutations, and the dearth of culturally-relevant resources for breast cancer education and counseling. As part of a CDC initiative, Sharsheret (a non-profit breast cancer support and advocacy organization) is scaling-up its programs and services for women of all Jewish backgrounds to better meet these needs, guided by program evaluation data on client engagement practices. This abstract describes these practices and survey results. Methods: Evaluation surveys were individually-administered via e-mail using a secure online platform. Survey invitations were sent to participants ~30 days following their utilization of Sharsheret program services. Evaluation domains included program engagement and satisfaction, health-related quality of life, and resource needs. Results: The survey response rate was >65% (N=111), and a majority of respondents reported that they were Jewish (75%), married (76%), either or 35-45 years old (35%) or 46-64 years old (48%), and from the northeast region of the US (56%). Most respondents (88%) reported a previous breast or ovarian cancer diagnosis, and 7% indicated they carried a genetic mutation known to increase breast cancer risk. Based on the CDC's 'Health Days' measures, respondents reported a higher number unhealthy days (M=12 days per month) relative to general population averages for adult women (M=6.9 days). Respondents rated their experience with the organization highly (M=4.7 out of 5) for overall satisfaction with the quality of services utilized. There was also strong agreement among respondents (M =4.6 out of 5) about the availability and utility of patient navigation services, and the survivorship program garnered the highest level of engagement (71%) as it was utilized most often by respondents for its healthy living and nutrition resources. Conclusion: Nonprofit organizations devoted to cancer support and advocacy fill important roles in educating and counseling women about breast cancer prevention, control, and treatment. In an era of precision medicine and discussion of population-based screening for hereditary breast cancer risk, these organizations must scale-up their information and support services. This is necessary to be available for a greater number of women, and can be expected to perform even more important and essential roles, especially for Jewish women at risk for and surviving breast cancer. Citation Format: Fleischmann A, Silber E, Dubitsky S, Stahl S, Kravitz S, Johnson A, Murphy S, Tercyak KP. Breast cancer education, counseling, and support for Jewish women: Preliminary results of a CDC program evaluation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-13-03.

Background. While a breast cancer diagnosis can be daunting for women of any age, studies have shown that young breast cancer survivors exhibit more emotional and psychological distress because of their relatively young age and life stage at diagnosis. In September 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded seven organizations, including Sharsheret, a national not-for-profit organization supporting young Jewish women and their families facing breast cancer, to develop support services and educational awareness activities for young breast cancer survivors. With this funding, Sharsheret developed the Thriving Again® (TA) survivorship program, which provides support services and resources, including a tailored survivorship kit with a survivorship care plan template, exercise DVD and healthy living cookbook. Participants were asked to complete an evaluation of services received to further enhance the program. Methods. Breast cancer survivors who received a TA survivorship kit were asked to complete an online or paper survey evaluating Sharsheret's survivorship support services. Among 972 women who received the TA survivorship kit and were invited to complete an evaluation, 164 women returned the evaluation survey and 85 completed it in its entirety. Descriptive statistics on demographics and factors related to utilizing the survivorship care plan template and Sharsheret's services were calculated and analyzed. The small sample size limited additional analyses. Results. Of the 85 women who completed the survey, 46% were <45 years of age and 43% were of Jewish descent. 62% of respondents reported that they received the kit and care plan template at the time they needed it most in their survivorship journey. These women more often reported completing their survivorship care plan template either themselves or with a member of their medical team. Care plan completion was also high among women considering themselves as "survivors" (89%). The vast majority of women participating in the Genetics for Life® program (76%) had spoken with a Sharsheret clinical team member at the time they ordered their TA kit. Other factors, such as stage at diagnosis and age, were unrelated to use of the care plan and Sharsheret's programs. Conclusion. Although breast cancer survivors may identify themselves as "survivors" at any point post-diagnosis, women responding to the survey who were satisfied with the timing of receiving the TA kit during their survivorship journey and who self-identified as a "survivor" were more likely to complete the care plan template. Women who reviewed the kit and learned more about TA with a member of Sharsheret's support team were more likely to engage in other Sharsheret programs, most notably, Genetics for Life®. Although the sample size was small, the findings from this evaluation may be helpful to other survivorship programs. Most notably, other programs may need to be aware of how patients perceive themselves as survivors and offer care plans and resources when patients feel they most need them, even if patients have not yet completed treatment. The findings in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Citation Format: Silber E, Stahl S, Fleischmann AK. Breast cancer survivorship support services: Evaluation findings of the thriving again survivorship program. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-10-15.