Breast Cancer Education, Screening and Navigation Program (BEST)
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer among women in the US (excluding non melanotic skin cancers), is the second commonest cause of cancer deaths in women overall and the leading cancer killer among Hispanic women. The BEST program was structured as a multicomponent evidence-based intervention with the intent of reducing breast cancer burden among uninsured women in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties, expanding to 105 West Texas Counties.
A systematic planning process was conducted in order to develop a community wide partnerships; instrumental in constructing a logic model to guide its development, outreach, education, navigation, direct service provision and facilitated access to treatment15. The community assessment identified several barriers which included critical gaps in services related to the whole spectrum of breast cancer early detection, specifically the impact outreach, evidence-based education and access to screening and diagnostic services for women in the neediest communities; these barriers were the focus of the intervention. Additionally, prior assessments yielded below standard results of breast cancer knowledge and available community resources, cultural barriers and myths about screening and lack of access to screening, diagnosis and treatment services.
About 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
