00;00;00;18 - 00;00;01;01 I'm Dr. 00;00;01;01 - 00;00;04;02 Rob Winn and you're listening to Real Cancer Talk 00;00;04;03 - 00;00;07;16 from VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. 00;00;07;19 - 00;00;12;04 I am Miss Community Clovia, welcoming you to community conversations. 00;00;12;07 - 00;00;16;12 It is a day of no copays, no white coats. 00;00;16;12 - 00;00;18;09 They stopped it a long time ago. 00;00;18;09 - 00;00;22;10 Doctor Robert Winn is director of the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. 00;00;22;13 - 00;00;24;03 My special guest on this show. 00;00;24;03 - 00;00;26;15 How you doing Dr. Winn? You know what? 00;00;26;15 - 00;00;29;23 When I am with you, you know the answer already. 00;00;29;23 - 00;00;32;16 I’m good. I’m good. That's right. 00;00;32;16 - 00;00;34;14 The black health Wins podcast. 00;00;34;14 - 00;00;36;19 And also she's no stranger to the show. 00;00;36;19 - 00;00;40;02 And I love I love introducing her because she's a great person 00;00;40;02 - 00;00;42;17 and can't believe she a doctor. But she a doctor too. 00;00;42;17 - 00;00;46;13 And we're going to have an episode focusing on Truth on the Truth project. 00;00;46;13 - 00;00;50;19 And we talked about that a few years back, but it features Doctor Katherine Tossas, 00;00;50;25 - 00;00;56;10 associate co-director of Global Oncology at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, 00;00;56;15 - 00;01;00;12 and with the Truth Project, it's leading to a broader discussion 00;01;00;19 - 00;01;03;21 of not only the population in the United States of America, 00;01;03;26 - 00;01;05;23 but how we get more personal care 00;01;05;23 - 00;01;09;18 when it comes to our our tribal and our Indian community. 00;01;09;18 - 00;01;13;05 So, doctor Tossas, welcome back to the show. 00;01;13;08 - 00;01;15;09 Good morning. 00;01;15;09 - 00;01;16;08 Thank you for having me. 00;01;16;08 - 00;01;18;16 We're excited to be here. Of course. 00;01;18;16 - 00;01;22;04 And we have the brainchild behind the true project 00;01;22;04 - 00;01;25;17 of the Chickahominy tribe, Suzanne Brown. 00;01;25;20 - 00;01;26;21 Good morning. 00;01;26;21 - 00;01;29;26 Thank you so much for having me on this morning. 00;01;29;29 - 00;01;31;21 It's a pleasure to have you here. 00;01;31;21 - 00;01;33;07 Now, doctor Tossas, 00;01;33;07 - 00;01;37;10 you found out about this TRUTH project and what did you decide to do? 00;01;37;10 - 00;01;40;10 Because I always like to go back and do the history of it. 00;01;40;15 - 00;01;43;18 And I know people won't remember pretty much from last year, but 00;01;43;18 - 00;01;48;19 talk a little bit about the TRUTH project and how VCU Massey got involved with it, 00;01;48;20 - 00;01;52;19 because we're talking about Charles City population of 6800 people. 00;01;52;21 - 00;01;55;19 Yes. I'm not from Virginia originally, so 00;01;55;19 - 00;01;58;26 I honestly didn't know much about Charles City, Virginia. 00;01;58;29 - 00;02;03;11 And I remember that, you know, this sister asked to meet with me. 00;02;03;11 - 00;02;05;11 Her name is Ms. Suzanne Brown. 00;02;05;11 - 00;02;06;22 And I was like, sure. 00;02;06;22 - 00;02;10;24 And she came and was telling me about her concerns 00;02;11;00 - 00;02;14;01 regarding excess cancers in her community. 00;02;14;07 - 00;02;17;06 She was, you know, mentioning that she was just tired of 00;02;17;06 - 00;02;20;16 every Sunday going to pray for a new neighbor 00;02;20;20 - 00;02;24;12 that either had been diagnosed or had died of cancer. 00;02;24;15 - 00;02;28;14 But what really moved me the most, is that she brought this 00;02;28;14 - 00;02;31;27 hand-drawn map where she had been tracking. 00;02;31;27 - 00;02;35;25 It literally had like little houses that had either a cross 00;02;35;25 - 00;02;37;13 if somebody have passed away, 00;02;37;13 - 00;02;40;25 or just a marker if somebody had been diagnosed with cancer 00;02;40;29 - 00;02;45;13 within really like a four block area across the street from a church 00;02;45;16 - 00;02;49;25 and from there, you know, center, the Chickahominy, tribal center. 00;02;49;25 - 00;02;51;04 And that really moved me. 00;02;51;04 - 00;02;54;09 To me, this was an example of when, Doctor 00;02;54;09 - 00;02;57;25 Winn talks about community intelligence, right? 00;02;57;25 - 00;03;02;27 That we say we hold the data, but the community holds the wisdom. 00;03;03;04 - 00;03;08;05 This project was born out of that example, and it was really guided by her 00;03;08;08 - 00;03;12;03 and the tribe that, and inspired by that, that we wrote 00;03;12;10 - 00;03;14;21 and were awarded this grant, 00;03;14;21 - 00;03;19;16 to look into the cancer problem in Charles City County, Virginia, 00;03;19;20 - 00;03;23;11 where the Chickahominy tribe but really for all the folks in Charles City County. 00;03;23;11 - 00;03;23;25 Yeah. 00;03;23;25 - 00;03;27;28 And as I remember, we were talking about this may be over a year ago 00;03;27;28 - 00;03;30;27 or two years ago and how you did the research. 00;03;30;27 - 00;03;32;09 You were knocking on people's doors 00;03;32;09 - 00;03;34;17 because Doctor Tossas, they were like, open up the door. 00;03;34;17 - 00;03;35;21 We coming. 00;03;35;21 - 00;03;38;08 We have to know what's going on in the community. 00;03;38;08 - 00;03;39;15 And here we are. 00;03;39;15 - 00;03;41;03 You have a grant 00;03;41;03 - 00;03;46;00 and you're making it wider and wider and expanding it for the community. 00;03;46;00 - 00;03;49;19 Now, for folks who are just joining us, Doctor Tossas with VCU, 00;03;49;19 - 00;03;53;09 Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center has partnered with the Chickahominy, 00;03;53;16 - 00;03;59;24 Indian Tribe to create the Truth Project, which is trust, research, understand, 00;04;00;02 - 00;04;03;25 tell and heal for our folks in Charles City County. 00;04;03;28 - 00;04;08;07 Now, Suzanne Brown, you drew this map, and after drawing this map, 00;04;08;09 - 00;04;12;10 did you have any idea you were going to have a partnership with the VCU Massey 00;04;12;14 - 00;04;14;15 Comprehensive Cancer Center? 00;04;14;15 - 00;04;20;14 I didn't have any idea of what it could, actually turn into. 00;04;20;17 - 00;04;23;05 I brought the map that one of us citizens 00;04;23;05 - 00;04;27;03 had drawn for me, after I put it together 00;04;27;06 - 00;04;32;03 and I didn't have any idea that it would get as big as what it did. 00;04;32;03 - 00;04;35;04 I was just asking for help, but 00;04;35;08 - 00;04;41;07 Massey came and showed up in a big way, and I'm so thankful for them because 00;04;41;07 - 00;04;47;16 we're able, through the Truth Project, we were able to get more resources. 00;04;47;19 - 00;04;51;21 We were able to get more education out to our citizens. 00;04;51;21 - 00;04;57;06 So when I came with that map, I had no idea what we were opening 00;04;57;06 - 00;05;03;19 up, to our community, not just our native people, but Charles City as a whole. 00;05;03;22 - 00;05;07;06 So one Suzanne, for you to talk a bit about your story 00;05;07;06 - 00;05;12;07 and how this came about for you around honoring your mom, because I think that 00;05;12;07 - 00;05;16;16 Community Clovia and the folks that are listening deserves to hear that. 00;05;16;19 - 00;05;19;10 Well, in September of 2019, 00;05;19;10 - 00;05;24;17 I lost my mother to nonsmoking lung cancer. 00;05;24;19 - 00;05;29;05 And she was one of the, people who did everything right. 00;05;29;05 - 00;05;30;17 She ate right. 00;05;30;17 - 00;05;33;11 She walked two miles every day like 00;05;33;11 - 00;05;36;17 she just did everything the way she was supposed to. 00;05;36;20 - 00;05;38;22 No underlying health conditions. 00;05;38;22 - 00;05;42;04 So in March of 2019, 00;05;42;04 - 00;05;45;04 she was winded on one of her walks. 00;05;45;06 - 00;05;49;14 And when she got to the doctor, for a check up, 00;05;49;17 - 00;05;52;27 they sent her for a chest X-ray 00;05;53;00 - 00;05;56;24 and they said she had stage four lung cancer. 00;05;56;24 - 00;05;58;17 We were devastated. 00;05;58;17 - 00;06;00;22 She never smoked. 00;06;00;22 - 00;06;06;00 She was never around anyone who smoked like it was just devastating. 00;06;06;00 - 00;06;09;14 And by September, she was she was gone. 00;06;09;17 - 00;06;14;14 And, it's really hard, like, not having her. 00;06;14;17 - 00;06;19;29 And I wanted to channel my grief into something that would have a positive 00;06;19;29 - 00;06;25;12 affect and to prevent other people from having to go through this same grief 00;06;25;12 - 00;06;30;03 that my family, my siblings and I, that we're experiencing. 00;06;30;06 - 00;06;34;16 So Massey has helped me do that with the Truth Project, 00;06;34;19 - 00;06;38;11 being able to go out, to the citizens, 00;06;38;14 - 00;06;41;11 having, trained 00;06;41;11 - 00;06;44;11 some of the citizens from the community 00;06;44;12 - 00;06;50;11 to go out with students from VCU and from Massey that were able 00;06;50;11 - 00;06;53;22 to, talk to the citizens 00;06;53;25 - 00;06;57;00 by pairing them with somebody from the community. 00;06;57;03 - 00;07;01;22 They trusted us to come in and talk to them about cancer, 00;07;01;23 - 00;07;06;15 what their perception of cancer was, and to actually do the water test. 00;07;06;15 - 00;07;12;29 And so I'm just so thankful for all that Massey has done for our tribe. 00;07;13;02 - 00;07;13;10 Thank 00;07;13;10 - 00;07;16;12 you so much for sharing your story, your personal story about the loss 00;07;16;12 - 00;07;21;20 of your beloved mother and you channeling that grief to help save lives. 00;07;21;27 - 00;07;24;29 Now, what are some of the results of the water testing? 00;07;24;29 - 00;07;27;29 Any findings of anything specifically 00;07;27;29 - 00;07;32;14 in the water testing Doctor Tossas or Doctor Robert Winn? 00;07;32;17 - 00;07;32;26 Yeah. 00;07;32;26 - 00;07;35;11 So I can speak a little bit about it. 00;07;35;11 - 00;07;38;11 So in brief, you know what we did, 00;07;38;11 - 00;07;42;07 the concern here was my goodness, there's a landfill in our community. 00;07;42;07 - 00;07;44;03 There's runoff from farms. 00;07;44;03 - 00;07;45;15 What could it be, right. 00;07;45;15 - 00;07;49;15 Because as Suzanne said, my mother had nonsmoking lung cancer. 00;07;49;18 - 00;07;50;29 It seemed to come out of nowhere. 00;07;50;29 - 00;07;52;10 And, you know, we hear this. 00;07;52;10 - 00;07;53;24 We hear this from folks 00;07;53;24 - 00;07;56;20 that are often diagnosed, that it's really unclear where it comes from. 00;07;56;20 - 00;07;58;24 And, you know, that's the frustrating part of our cancer, right? 00;07;58;24 - 00;08;00;24 Cancer is multifactorial. 00;08;00;24 - 00;08;04;22 And so, you know, it's really hard to pinpoint exactly what 00;08;04;22 - 00;08;05;20 might have caused it. 00;08;05;20 - 00;08;09;18 So in this case, we decided that, as part of the project, 00;08;09;18 - 00;08;14;04 we were going to provide water testing within a four mile radius of the, 00;08;14;11 - 00;08;19;00 of the tribal center, which also is close to the landfill. 00;08;19;00 - 00;08;24;03 And the reality is, again, that we didn't find a specific culprit. 00;08;24;03 - 00;08;28;01 What we did find was a number of analyze, a number of different, 00;08;28;04 - 00;08;32;02 things that are in the water, whether it's pH or things like that, that were, 00;08;32;09 - 00;08;35;15 you know, out of range a little bit, but nothing that was a culprit. 00;08;35;18 - 00;08;37;24 But what we did learn, and I think that Doctor Winn 00;08;37;24 - 00;08;41;15 can speak more about this is, you know, confirmatory rather 00;08;41;19 - 00;08;47;18 is that what there is, is, of course, one there's that same, remnants 00;08;47;18 - 00;08;50;21 of, of medical mistrust, mistrust for the health care system 00;08;50;21 - 00;08;56;03 that a lot of us share for very, clear reasons, historical reasons. 00;08;56;03 - 00;08;59;23 We also learned a lot around, you know, that there is 00;08;59;27 - 00;09;03;04 this thought around what we attribute cancer to 00;09;03;10 - 00;09;07;15 and then the result of that, how that influences our actions. 00;09;07;15 - 00;09;08;07 Right. 00;09;08;07 - 00;09;11;28 That there was that concern, you know, is a landfill making me sick? 00;09;11;28 - 00;09;15;18 Is the air that I breathe making me sick is the water that I drink? 00;09;15;24 - 00;09;20;05 And how does that, in a sense, shapes our behaviors? 00;09;20;08 - 00;09;22;20 That is what is actionable for us. 00;09;22;20 - 00;09;26;21 And that is what the Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center is here to do. 00;09;26;27 - 00;09;29;02 I cannot change the environment. 00;09;29;02 - 00;09;32;13 I cannot change the weather symptoms by what some may say. 00;09;32;16 - 00;09;37;23 But what we can do is bring education and bring resources, and importantly, 00;09;37;28 - 00;09;42;26 create a clear bridge for the community to know that Massey is here to provide 00;09;42;26 - 00;09;48;01 resources, education for you, to know your body and for you to get screened. 00;09;48;01 - 00;09;52;03 Because again, as Doctor Winn I'm sure will say, we know that between 00;09;52;03 - 00;09;58;05 1990 and today, we have really reduced cancer mortality by over 30%. 00;09;58;05 - 00;09;59;23 And again, I've heard it 00;09;59;23 - 00;10;04;00 so many times, it's not from drinking carrot juice or eating more kale, right? 00;10;04;00 - 00;10;07;26 It is a result of, you know, the breakthrough, treatments 00;10;07;26 - 00;10;09;25 that breakthrough screenings that are available. 00;10;09;25 - 00;10;11;19 And that is what we can do. 00;10;11;19 - 00;10;15;16 I'm just so thankful that Doctor Tossas, that you took the call. 00;10;15;16 - 00;10;18;01 It's just talks about the amazing work. 00;10;18;01 - 00;10;18;27 If you want things 00;10;18;27 - 00;10;22;11 to change in your community and you want the reduction of cancer 00;10;22;11 - 00;10;26;14 and early detection and prevention, you gotta answer the phone. 00;10;26;17 - 00;10;27;29 So it starts there. 00;10;27;29 - 00;10;30;14 Thank you Doctor Tossas. 00;10;30;14 - 00;10;31;01 Absolutely. 00;10;31;01 - 00;10;35;13 But you know, you and I know that again, there are one unique thing 00;10;35;13 - 00;10;39;17 about the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, it's just that right. 00;10;39;17 - 00;10;44;22 From from the leadership down, I obviously this is why Doctor Winn is here. 00;10;44;25 - 00;10;49;08 This is you know, the cancer center for Virginia. 00;10;49;08 - 00;10;52;29 And we are the only safety net comprehensive cancer 00;10;52;29 - 00;10;56;07 center in the state and one of the few in the nation. 00;10;56;07 - 00;10;58;17 And therefore, we are here to serve everybody. 00;10;58;17 - 00;11;01;19 And this is what, you know, servant leadership looks like. 00;11;01;21 - 00;11;05;24 Being open to listening and to being truly guided by the community. 00;11;05;24 - 00;11;09;22 So that to me, this is again part of an example of 00;11;09;22 - 00;11;12;26 of Massey walking the walk and talking the talk. 00;11;12;26 - 00;11;16;10 And I am honestly, truly thankful and humbled, 00;11;16;10 - 00;11;20;02 that Suzanne was able to trust us enough to bring this to us 00;11;20;09 - 00;11;23;21 and allow us the opportunity to respond to it. 00;11;23;21 - 00;11;28;01 And I then, in turn, I'm thankful for our leadership, for Doctor Winn’s leadership, 00;11;28;04 - 00;11;31;18 for giving us the space and the safety and the freedom to be able 00;11;31;18 - 00;11;35;15 to pursue these kinds of ideas, because without that kind of support, 00;11;35;18 - 00;11;36;21 we wouldn't be able to do that. 00;11;36;21 - 00;11;38;27 So, you know, I you know, I don't get it twisted. 00;11;38;27 - 00;11;42;08 I know that, yeah, I am I am supported and this is, 00;11;42;08 - 00;11;46;24 this is how we can make these things happen in partnership with the community. 00;11;46;24 - 00;11;49;20 And this going to bring me back to Doctor Winn 00;11;49;20 - 00;11;53;07 because you're only as good as your head, which is your director and 00;11;53;14 - 00;11;56;27 and Doctor Winn, he came in talking about 00;11;56;27 - 00;11;59;27 how do we go to the community first. 00;12;00;02 - 00;12;00;19 Okay. 00;12;00;19 - 00;12;02;20 Because we're going to do a reduction in cancer. 00;12;02;20 - 00;12;06;00 And, you know, the black and brown people we don't really trust. 00;12;06;03 - 00;12;07;03 He's changing that for us. 00;12;07;03 - 00;12;10;00 We're going to talk to Doctor Winn when we come back. Stay close. 00;12;10;00 - 00;12;14;10 This is Community Conversations, the Black Health Wins podcast. 00;12;14;13 - 00;12;17;12 Welcome back to Community Conversations, the Black Health 00;12;17;12 - 00;12;20;19 Wins podcast, with a special guest joining me on the show. 00;12;20;19 - 00;12;22;17 We got Dr. Tossas. 00;12;22;17 - 00;12;23;27 We got our very special guest 00;12;23;27 - 00;12;28;12 from the Chickahominy tribe called the Truth Project, Suzanne Brown. 00;12;28;18 - 00;12;30;05 And then, of course, the man of the hour. 00;12;30;05 - 00;12;34;00 He's never too sweet to be sour, never, ever. 00;12;34;02 - 00;12;37;11 Doctor Robert Winn, how are you doing? 00;12;37;14 - 00;12;39;29 I put you on blast didn’t I? 00;12;39;29 - 00;12;41;19 I know. That's right. 00;12;41;19 - 00;12;43;17 I just want to thank you. 00;12;43;17 - 00;12;46;17 Whenever we have doctors on whether they are 00;12;46;17 - 00;12;49;24 doctors featured at VCU, Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center 00;12;49;28 - 00;12;53;19 or your friends around the nation or around the world talking about 00;12;53;20 - 00;12;59;02 how we can reduce cancer, reduce cancer for the general population, right. 00;12;59;05 - 00;13;03;08 But for our rural populations and for our black and brown people. 00;13;03;11 - 00;13;05;25 But to take a step out with the Truth Project. 00;13;05;25 - 00;13;09;25 And as I said, the Doctor Tossas, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer 00;13;09;25 - 00;13;14;22 Center answered the phone, then had to go down to Charles City. 00;13;14;29 - 00;13;17;23 Well, listen we learn from the best sister 00;13;17;23 - 00;13;21;24 Clo, and, you didn't get that title Community 00;13;21;24 - 00;13;25;11 Clovia without understanding that the community matters. 00;13;25;11 - 00;13;28;05 And that's what you do in the context of getting information out. 00;13;28;05 - 00;13;31;14 And so let's just say, you know, a kids wants to what to say 00;13;31;17 - 00;13;34;19 what one day he sort of said that the highest form of flattery 00;13;34;19 - 00;13;35;18 someone biting your style. 00;13;35;18 - 00;13;36;26 Well, we came in and I bit on your style 00;13;36;26 - 00;13;39;26 a little bit and understood that going to the community is what you... 00;13;40;01 - 00;13;43;15 Not what’s nice, but you were compelled and had to do. 00;13;43;15 - 00;13;47;08 And so, following your footsteps and some great folk that I know, 00;13;47;14 - 00;13;49;12 it was really framed in that way. 00;13;49;12 - 00;13;52;24 And so, by the way, when we start talking about the Chickahominy, the other tribes, 00;13;52;24 - 00;13;55;23 the seven tribes, or the 11 tribes that are actually within the Commonwealth, 00;13;55;29 - 00;13;58;16 you know, the reality is, is the looked at that. Right? 00;13;58;16 - 00;14;01;15 I mean, you know, when we think about Chickahominy, 00;14;01;15 - 00;14;03;07 you know, in Charles County, 00;14;03;07 - 00;14;06;05 we also are thinking about all of the other cancers 00;14;06;05 - 00;14;09;14 that go with, Native American and tribal nations across the country. 00;14;09;14 - 00;14;13;15 For example, increase rates of stomach cancer, increase rates of liver 00;14;13;15 - 00;14;18;03 cancer, lung cancers, cervical cancer, even kidney cancer. 00;14;18;06 - 00;14;21;25 And so even if there wasn't this issue, 00;14;21;28 - 00;14;25;18 around, and what Doctor Tossas really discovered 00;14;25;18 - 00;14;30;11 and with Suzanne Brown and Chief Adkins and others discovered about the, 00;14;30;11 - 00;14;33;19 this source that they were worried about in the rates of cancer, 00;14;33;23 - 00;14;37;17 the truth of the matter is, on a national level, if you're, 00;14;37;17 - 00;14;42;00 from a tribal nation, the outcomes, tend to be a little bit higher. 00;14;42;00 - 00;14;46;15 But getting cancer and, and, and oftentimes badly worse. 00;14;46;18 - 00;14;49;17 Now, I will say that we going to have to. 00;14;49;17 - 00;14;51;11 What do you say? Tell the truth and shame the devil now. 00;14;51;11 - 00;14;54;18 Now look, we're, the more we're getting to know, 00;14;54;18 - 00;14;58;12 we also getting to know that high rates of diabetes are literally. 00;14;58;15 - 00;15;02;26 We used to think of diabetes being absolutely separate from cancer, 00;15;02;29 - 00;15;05;18 just like we used to think of alcohol as being alcohol, 00;15;05;18 - 00;15;09;18 but not alcohol contributed in cancer, or old school days in the 80s and 90s. 00;15;09;18 - 00;15;12;10 We just talk about tobacco 00;15;12;13 - 00;15;15;00 and we talk about, you know, cancer. 00;15;15;00 - 00;15;17;00 But we wouldn't talk about these other things. 00;15;17;00 - 00;15;20;23 It is true that diabetes and obesity, 00;15;20;26 - 00;15;23;16 when we think about all of our rural communities 00;15;23;16 - 00;15;26;15 and we think of particularly, black and tan communities and tribal communities, 00;15;26;19 - 00;15;30;13 when we think about the about these days of obesity 00;15;30;13 - 00;15;35;05 and we think of diabetes, we understand that both of those things, 00;15;35;08 - 00;15;38;10 probably also contributing to increased rates of cancers. 00;15;38;10 - 00;15;42;01 And so as we're starting to think about this, what I love about the Truth 00;15;42;01 - 00;15;45;29 Project is that there is the truth within the project, 00;15;46;02 - 00;15;48;07 that they're not just there to look at one thing 00;15;48;07 - 00;15;52;28 you said you test the water and the water then showed this, but it is a commitment 00;15;52;28 - 00;15;57;20 beyond the grain of a long term relationship. 00;15;57;23 - 00;16;01;18 To figure out how we not the great University of VCU, 00;16;01;18 - 00;16;06;13 but or the great institution of Massey, but as us as part of that family, 00;16;06;13 - 00;16;07;14 as part of that community. 00;16;07;14 - 00;16;10;22 How can the collective we figure out how to address 00;16;10;22 - 00;16;14;09 the diabetes issues, how to address the cancer issues and the obesity issue? 00;16;14;09 - 00;16;16;05 So that's what I'm most excited about. 00;16;16;05 - 00;16;20;13 And again, I'm going to give you props out because you're bringing the light 00;16;20;13 - 00;16;23;13 to these issues for all of our communities to benefit. 00;16;23;15 - 00;16;25;21 So appreciate you. Oh thank you Doctor Winn. 00;16;25;21 - 00;16;30;23 And I love something you said after the grant. 00;16;30;26 - 00;16;32;24 We are building relationships. 00;16;32;24 - 00;16;36;03 So if there is a grant, great, right. 00;16;36;08 - 00;16;39;17 But outside of the grant you're building relationship 00;16;39;23 - 00;16;43;00 because we all know that folks get a grant for something. 00;16;43;00 - 00;16;44;15 Yeah, I was awarded a grant. 00;16;44;15 - 00;16;47;15 And when the grant is done, they are gone. 00;16;47;20 - 00;16;49;04 You know what I'm saying? 00;16;49;04 - 00;16;52;00 And I know Doctor Tossas and yeah. 00;16;52;00 - 00;16;55;02 And so in order for us to be in a win win situation, you speak in 00;16;55;08 - 00;16;58;12 speaking our language and we are trying to break down 00;16;58;12 - 00;17;02;19 this process of cancer into the least common denominator. 00;17;02;22 - 00;17;04;16 Early detection is key. 00;17;04;16 - 00;17;10;04 Clinical trials, clinical trials, if something doesn't feel right, 00;17;10;07 - 00;17;14;03 or if there is a major scar or sore or whatever 00;17;14;06 - 00;17;16;08 it is, can't put sabb on it anymore. 00;17;16;08 - 00;17;18;05 No pun intended to grandma. 00;17;18;05 - 00;17;20;17 Okay, we just can't do that. 00;17;20;17 - 00;17;24;13 Or if you're having headaches, just you just don't feel good. 00;17;24;16 - 00;17;27;16 We can't always contributed to it's just heat. 00;17;27;16 - 00;17;32;05 And so now that the numbers are getting higher, that I know of, 00;17;32;08 - 00;17;35;21 of people in pre-diabetes or are diabetic. 00;17;35;21 - 00;17;39;19 So now we gotta look at one, making sure we get to the doctor. 00;17;39;19 - 00;17;43;21 And if you don't have a doctor, get to Massey, VCU Comprehensive Cancer 00;17;43;21 - 00;17;46;23 Center, because we're trying to save lives. 00;17;46;23 - 00;17;50;14 And now that we know that alcohol, smoking 00;17;50;17 - 00;17;56;01 and some other health issues are connected to cancer, we gotta keep on. 00;17;56;01 - 00;17;59;13 Listen up to VCU, Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center 00;17;59;16 - 00;18;02;01 and all of the science and research that's coming out. 00;18;02;01 - 00;18;03;24 That's all I'm saying. 00;18;03;24 - 00;18;06;08 Dr. Winn, what I was going to say, if I may. 00;18;06;08 - 00;18;09;00 That is part of what we're doing next. 00;18;09;00 - 00;18;09;10 Right. 00;18;09;10 - 00;18;14;10 So the Chickahominy Truth Project, as it was, it quote unquote, 00;18;14;13 - 00;18;18;11 you know, was the beginning of their relationship inspired by science. 00;18;18;11 - 00;18;22;22 And and so based on what we learned, everything that we learned from that 00;18;22;25 - 00;18;27;13 we have now again, once again inspired by the other tribes 00;18;27;13 - 00;18;29;12 who were like, well, you know, we want in on this too. 00;18;29;12 - 00;18;31;15 We want to bring this to our communities. 00;18;31;15 - 00;18;34;13 We have now, applied, and we're able 00;18;34;13 - 00;18;38;08 to receive another grant to expand this work. 00;18;38;08 - 00;18;39;14 As Dr. Winn alluded to. 00;18;39;14 - 00;18;44;05 All 11 tribes, and I think, importantly, part of what that work entails 00;18;44;08 - 00;18;47;09 is some of what you kind of alluded to that it this is not... Dr. 00;18;47;09 - 00;18;49;01 Winn said this is not about an institution. 00;18;49;01 - 00;18;50;26 This is not about a cancer center. 00;18;50;26 - 00;18;54;18 This is about, again, the community and this next iteration. 00;18;54;18 - 00;19;00;07 The plan is here to indeed identify individuals from native nations. 00;19;00;07 - 00;19;03;12 First of all, bring them together to create, 00;19;03;12 - 00;19;08;10 you know, first Virginia Native Nations Against Cancer Coalition 00;19;08;13 - 00;19;11;21 and then identify members from each of the tribes 00;19;11;21 - 00;19;14;19 representing each of the tribes to become certified 00;19;14;19 - 00;19;18;01 community health workers with specialized training on cancer 00;19;18;04 - 00;19;22;03 that can actually continue to disseminate and spread that word in the community. 00;19;22;09 - 00;19;25;00 Suzanne is already doing things like and I and I really love. 00;19;25;00 - 00;19;26;28 And she can talk more about this. Yeah. 00;19;26;28 - 00;19;29;29 If she's if she's okay with it, you know, she was saying Dr. 00;19;29;29 - 00;19;34;01 Tossas, I go through the your newsletter like is the Bible and I really love that 00;19;34;01 - 00;19;35;14 and she said and by the way, 00;19;35;14 - 00;19;38;19 I just ordered this little things that actually printed 00;19;38;24 - 00;19;43;01 and put it in the bathroom stall so that people have no choice but to read it. 00;19;43;04 - 00;19;46;05 Oh, that is the kind of thing that we want. 00;19;46;11 - 00;19;50;06 The seed in our community that again, we can't do this alone. 00;19;50;11 - 00;19;54;13 There's no way this is not about, again, one institutional, one cancer center. 00;19;54;16 - 00;19;58;02 This is really about us partnering with the community 00;19;58;02 - 00;20;03;07 so that we can grow this exponentially by providing tools and resources. 00;20;03;07 - 00;20;06;07 And this is exactly what we are proposing for this. 00;20;06;10 - 00;20;09;24 You know, continuing work to do to grow the next generation 00;20;10;01 - 00;20;14;06 of certified community health workers with specialized training on cancer 00;20;14;09 - 00;20;17;27 that are from live within native nations. 00;20;18;04 - 00;20;19;22 Suzanne, would you like to add to that? 00;20;19;22 - 00;20;22;00 Doctor Tossas, thank you. Yes. 00;20;22;00 - 00;20;28;00 I'm excited about this new grant because it's so very important. 00;20;28;02 - 00;20;31;02 One of the things that we learned from 00;20;31;05 - 00;20;35;10 our TRUTH project is not only, 00;20;35;11 - 00;20;40;01 that there are environmental factors and things 00;20;40;01 - 00;20;44;19 that affect, your, increased risk for cancer. 00;20;44;22 - 00;20;50;20 But education is something that we really needed in our rural community. 00;20;50;23 - 00;20;54;09 We need people to know when they should get their screenings. 00;20;54;09 - 00;20;59;26 We need them to know, about, early detection is key. 00;20;59;29 - 00;21;05;09 Those are things that we don't get in the underlying areas of the city. 00;21;05;09 - 00;21;08;11 If you're not in the city, you don't see 00;21;08;11 - 00;21;11;21 a lot of the pop up activities that you do. 00;21;11;24 - 00;21;12;08 There. 00;21;12;08 - 00;21;13;28 We need those things here. 00;21;13;28 - 00;21;17;13 So when, when Dr. 00;21;17;13 - 00;21;22;08 Winn and, the Massey team came the very first time they met 00;21;22;08 - 00;21;25;16 with us, Doctor Winn said to us, he said, 00;21;25;16 - 00;21;28;18 y'all know that this is bigger than the Truth project, right? 00;21;28;24 - 00;21;31;22 It doesn't just stop here like we're here. 00;21;31;22 - 00;21;35;02 You're stuck with us, and we're going to continue to be with you. 00;21;35;05 - 00;21;36;09 And they have. 00;21;36;09 - 00;21;42;18 And the things that, we have access to and the resources 00;21;42;21 - 00;21;47;07 I'm able to share those with my tribe and the community. 00;21;47;10 - 00;21;51;06 We, hosted our very first smoking 00;21;51;06 - 00;21;54;11 cessation workshop in June. 00;21;54;14 - 00;21;58;13 It's important that if we're going to give people 00;21;58;16 - 00;22;03;03 all of these things that they need to do to reduce their risk of cancer, 00;22;03;03 - 00;22;06;03 if we say to them, stop smoking, 00;22;06;03 - 00;22;10;13 okay, we can tell you that, but Massey is going to help you with that. 00;22;10;16 - 00;22;13;18 We're going to tell them about the We Can Quit program. 00;22;13;19 - 00;22;18;13 So we had a, workshop open to the whole community 00;22;18;16 - 00;22;21;25 and were able to sign some people up for that program. 00;22;21;28 - 00;22;27;29 So, it the TRUTH project was big, but it's getting bigger 00;22;28;02 - 00;22;32;20 because now we're able to distribute that to all of our other tribes. 00;22;32;20 - 00;22;34;16 And this is so exciting. 00;22;34;16 - 00;22;38;02 And it's going to be a game changer for our community. 00;22;38;02 - 00;22;42;23 This is also fulfilling, our vision as part of this project, 00;22;42;23 - 00;22;46;15 we are also going to create, the Virginia 00;22;46;16 - 00;22;49;27 Native Nations Against Cancer Summit, 00;22;50;00 - 00;22;54;11 which is a is a dream that Doctor Winn has had for a while. 00;22;54;11 - 00;22;57;23 So, this is again, something that Doctor Winn has been 00;22;57;23 - 00;23;01;21 wanting to bring to fruition, that this grant is going to allow us to do. 00;23;01;21 - 00;23;03;06 And I'll be right there. 00;23;03;06 - 00;23;05;03 We're going to take another break and come on back. 00;23;05;03 - 00;23;06;05 If you want more information 00;23;06;05 - 00;23;10;01 about what we talk about, you can go to Massey Cancer center.org. 00;23;10;08 - 00;23;14;00 That's Massey Cancer Center that org I'm Dr. 00;23;14;00 - 00;23;17;01 Rob Winn and you're listening to Real Cancer Talk 00;23;17;02 - 00;23;20;12 from VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. 00;23;20;15 - 00;23;22;29 Welcome back to Community Conversations. 00;23;22;29 - 00;23;28;07 I am Miss Community Clovia of the Black Health Wins podcast with Doctor 00;23;28;07 - 00;23;32;01 Robert Winn, director of the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. 00;23;32;06 - 00;23;36;08 Also, I have my very special guest, Doctor Katherine Tossas. 00;23;36;12 - 00;23;41;08 And I mean, with this TRUTH project, I mean, everybody's hearing about it 00;23;41;08 - 00;23;45;06 locally, nationally and globally, making a national 00;23;45;06 - 00;23;48;23 and international publication, talking about just this. 00;23;48;28 - 00;23;51;12 Doctor Tossas, welcome back to the show. 00;23;51;12 - 00;23;53;08 Thank you, thank you. 00;23;53;08 - 00;23;57;00 And when you did this publication in which everybody's talking about it 00;23;57;05 - 00;24;00;07 around the world, I'm pretty sure 00;24;00;13 - 00;24;03;23 you've been at the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. 00;24;03;27 - 00;24;08;13 You included the folks in the community, didn’t you? 00;24;08;16 - 00;24;10;04 Absolutely, I 00;24;10;07 - 00;24;13;07 mean, so the publication you're referring to 00;24;13;12 - 00;24;17;22 is actually a feature in a journal that's called New England Journal, 00;24;17;22 - 00;24;20;25 which is, you know, a big deal in the scientific community. 00;24;20;25 - 00;24;24;10 But I think that what we're most proud of is the fact that the publication 00;24;24;13 - 00;24;29;06 was about the Genomic Information Nondiscrimination Act. 00;24;29;09 - 00;24;36;16 And basically, it was to highlight that there are still gaps in that policy 00;24;36;19 - 00;24;42;07 that, you know, either they don't cover a native nations or there's 00;24;42;07 - 00;24;47;07 still confusion about the medical field on the coverage for native nations. 00;24;47;08 - 00;24;49;15 So we need to do some reeducation. 00;24;49;15 - 00;24;52;19 And I'm really proud because that was a lesson 00;24;52;19 - 00;24;55;19 that we learned or that I learned from them. 00;24;55;19 - 00;24;56;14 I didn't know much 00;24;56;14 - 00;25;01;04 about the Genomic Information Nondiscrimination Act or GINA for short. 00;25;01;07 - 00;25;03;28 And that is actually also 00;25;03;28 - 00;25;07;04 informing the next stage of this, because, 00;25;07;07 - 00;25;12;12 as I mentioned prior, part of this, new project together entails 00;25;12;12 - 00;25;17;19 developing a statewide conference with all native nations to bring awareness. 00;25;17;22 - 00;25;22;16 We have also travel with them nationally to present our conference alongside them. 00;25;22;22 - 00;25;28;11 And we are also going to bring awareness to the GINA Act during this convening. 00;25;28;11 - 00;25;32;03 Again, a community forward, community facing community first. 00;25;32;06 - 00;25;34;15 So that again, that's really what we're all about. 00;25;34;15 - 00;25;38;07 And that is again, what this project is an example of. 00;25;38;10 - 00;25;39;12 Thank you for sharing that. 00;25;39;12 - 00;25;40;24 I want to point this out. 00;25;40;24 - 00;25;44;14 One important limitation has been when it comes to our Native Americans. 00;25;44;17 - 00;25;48;21 Native Americans who receive care from the Indian Health Service aren't 00;25;48;21 - 00;25;53;13 covered by the federal law that bans discrimination based on genetic makeup. 00;25;53;16 - 00;25;57;03 Is there something you just found out, too, or Suzanne? 00;25;57;06 - 00;25;57;28 That is correct. 00;25;57;28 - 00;26;01;29 So that's exactly what this article that we just got published, a feature 00;26;01;29 - 00;26;07;10 that's exactly it just points out the potential gap and how we can address it. 00;26;07;10 - 00;26;11;03 And so there is, some turmoil or some, you know, 00;26;11;03 - 00;26;14;26 dialog in the field or like, well, no, no, they are covered. 00;26;14;26 - 00;26;16;09 There's this other things that have been done. 00;26;16;09 - 00;26;18;08 But the reality is that you and I know 00;26;18;08 - 00;26;22;01 that, you know, we say in Spanish, {inaudible}. 00;26;22;04 - 00;26;24;20 So there's like a big gap between the saying and the doing. 00;26;24;20 - 00;26;27;21 Right this or whether this policy covers them or not. 00;26;27;27 - 00;26;29;29 You know, if it doesn't, it's a problem. 00;26;29;29 - 00;26;31;21 And if it does and they don't know about it, 00;26;31;21 - 00;26;34;29 and if it does and the medical community doesn't know why that's the problem, 00;26;34;29 - 00;26;37;01 because they're they're not recommending it. Right. 00;26;37;01 - 00;26;40;06 So it is important that our community is covered 00;26;40;09 - 00;26;41;10 and that our community 00;26;41;10 - 00;26;45;10 and the clinical folks that provide care for that community knows about it 00;26;45;17 - 00;26;49;05 so that they can get the proper care and the proper access 00;26;49;08 - 00;26;52;24 to genetic information and testing for the purposes of, 00;26;52;26 - 00;26;55;23 of cancer, for example, in cancer treatment, 00;26;55;23 - 00;26;58;22 but also that they know that they are protected because otherwise 00;26;58;22 - 00;27;03;06 this continues to perpetuate the mistrust that exists in our community. 00;27;03;09 - 00;27;05;12 Well, Charles City standing all the way up. 00;27;05;12 - 00;27;08;20 You’ve got the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center 00;27;08;27 - 00;27;12;06 all in big relationships that are happening here. 00;27;12;08 - 00;27;15;01 Suzanne you got any words for us before we go. 00;27;15;01 - 00;27;20;14 Thank you again to Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and all that they're doing 00;27;20;14 - 00;27;26;04 for not only the native community, but Charles City County as a whole. 00;27;26;07 - 00;27;29;10 When they came, they said they were here for life. 00;27;29;10 - 00;27;31;25 And they are. I'm so thankful for that. 00;27;31;25 - 00;27;36;16 And, thankful to be able to channel my grief into something 00;27;36;16 - 00;27;42;20 that will have a positive impact on my people and my community. 00;27;42;23 - 00;27;44;25 Thank you, Suzanne Brown, brainchild. 00;27;44;25 - 00;27;46;26 Thank you again for having me. You're welcome. 00;27;46;26 - 00;27;49;25 Brainchild of the Chickahominy Tribe Truth 00;27;49;25 - 00;27;53;10 Project and Doctor Robert Winn it's your time. 00;27;53;10 - 00;27;56;29 You going to help us all the way up before we go? 00;27;57;02 - 00;27;57;22 Absolutely. 00;27;57;22 - 00;28;00;02 What I love about this program is that, you know, 00;28;00;02 - 00;28;02;21 they got to remember the Real Truth Holyfield. 00;28;02;21 - 00;28;04;09 The real deal truth Holyfield. 00;28;04;09 - 00;28;06;08 Well, we got the real we got the... 00;28;06;08 - 00;28;08;04 Listen, we got the real deal right here. 00;28;08;04 - 00;28;11;29 So listen, I appreciate, again everything you do for us 00;28;11;29 - 00;28;15;00 Clovia and, Suzanne and Chief and everybody. 00;28;15;00 - 00;28;16;26 Thank you for what you do. And, Dr. 00;28;16;26 - 00;28;18;13 Tossas, thank you for being on this. 00;28;18;13 - 00;28;20;23 And, you know, again, Clovia. 00;28;20;23 - 00;28;24;27 Listen, really appreciate everything that you do and you do for the community. 00;28;25;03 - 00;28;26;21 That's how we’re going to sum it up. 00;28;26;21 - 00;28;31;19 This has been community conversations for Black Health Wins podcast.