RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — First Lady First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited VCU’s Massey Cancer Center in Richmond Wednesday. It was her first trip outside of Washington since her husband’s inauguration.
Biden praised the work of doctors and researchers at the Massey center, which has been recognized for its work to study the socioeconomic and cultural factors that contribute to disparities in cancer outcomes.
She said churches have been key players in bringing everything from food to vaccinations to people of color during the pandemic.
The Massey Cancer Center operates a branch in Danville which has been involved in community outreach in local housing projects. That work expanded during the pandemic to include a large food distribution program last summer. The Danville branch has been in operation since 2010 and has focused recently on identification and prevention of colorectal cancer.
Jill Biden has been a longtime advocate for cancer patients and their families. She and President Joe Biden’s son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 at age 46. Her parents also died of cancer.
During her visit, Jill Biden recounted how four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer within a one-year period in the 1990s.
“Cancer touches everyone,” she said.
Biden praised the work of doctors and researchers at the Massey center, which has been nationally recognized for its work to study the socioeconomic and cultural factors that contribute to disparities in cancer outcomes. The center focuses on community engagement as part of a strategy to better reach underserved communities and to address health disparities, particularly in the Black community. It also works to expand minority participation in cancer research.
Biden cited “Facts and Faith Fridays,” a weekly conference call started at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by Dr. Robert Winn, director of the Massey center, and Black clergy, to provide pastors and their congregations with key updates on pandemic-related issues, including personal protective equipment, social distancing, and rent and mortgage relief.
Recently, the calls have included information about COVID-19 vaccinations, with a focus on addressing vaccine hesitancy. Guest have included Dr. Anthony Fauci, as well as state and local health officials.
Biden said the initiative has helped build trust between communities and the Massey center, which she said has made strides to reduce health disparities.
“It’s about time that we started getting really serious about this,” she said, adding that the pandemic has put a spotlight on the problem.
She said churches have been key players in bringing everything from food to vaccinations to people of color during the pandemic.
”I think that the communities of color, they trust you, and now, I think it’s important that they learn to trust the federal government again,” she said.
The Massey center, founded in 1974, is one of two centers in Virginia designated by the National Cancer Institute to help lead the country’s cancer research efforts.
Biden toured the center’s research laboratory with Winn and Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute. She also received briefings from several doctors on their research.
The Massey Cancer Center operates a branch in Danville which has been involved in community outreach in local housing projects. That work expanded during the pandemic to include a large food distribution program last summer. The local operation has focused recently on identification and prevention of colorectal cancer.