Dr. Sumedha Penheiter

They just, the strategy to address them are different based on what they are. There's more food insecurity in urban areas. There's more, you know, inability to walk and get exercise because obesity does help just lead to cancer occurrence.

They just, the strategy to address them are different based on what they are. There's more food insecurity in urban areas. There's more, you know, inability to walk and get exercise because obesity does help just lead to cancer occurrence.

There's just not as much available even though there is a lot of money in terms of the underserved community being able to access clean trails, to be able to walk to school, to be able to, I mean, just the difficult gap between neighborhoods is immense.

There's just not as much available even though there is a lot of money in terms of the underserved community being able to access clean trails, to be able to walk to school, to be able to, I mean, just the difficult gap between neighborhoods is immense.

Like I shared, you know, we're kind of using the same playbook with some modifications for the new cancer plan that we're formulating And it was very much based on listening sessions. We call them listening sessions that were at the grassroots level to understand the burden.

Like I shared, you know, we're kind of using the same playbook with some modifications for the new cancer plan that we're formulating And it was very much based on listening sessions. We call them listening sessions that were at the grassroots level to understand the burden.

But in addition, we fund a lot of grants through the strategy action group is what we call them, where we target any time we have an initiative, we need to make sure that there's community engagement and community involvement. and always, always a community partner as a co-partner if possible. So that's kind of our strategy that we adopt to make sure there's community engagement.

But in addition, we fund a lot of grants through the strategy action group is what we call them, where we target any time we have an initiative, we need to make sure that there's community engagement and community involvement. and always, always a community partner as a co-partner if possible. So that's kind of our strategy that we adopt to make sure there's community engagement.

Like I shared, you know, we worked on legislation to get a grant funded for community health workers. We worked with the community health workers organizations in Minnesota very closely to ensure that their work could be covered and paid for. So community is definitely the center of our work.

Like I shared, you know, we worked on legislation to get a grant funded for community health workers. We worked with the community health workers organizations in Minnesota very closely to ensure that their work could be covered and paid for. So community is definitely the center of our work.

I think I would like to say that when the cancer plan is formed, there is definitely the burden and the local burden, but also to understand that we rely heavily on our partners. So the feasibility is definitely an aspect of what we end up doing in the sense that we are relying heavily on our extended partners, and somewhat on MDH to help us with the initiatives that we formed.

I think I would like to say that when the cancer plan is formed, there is definitely the burden and the local burden, but also to understand that we rely heavily on our partners. So the feasibility is definitely an aspect of what we end up doing in the sense that we are relying heavily on our extended partners, and somewhat on MDH to help us with the initiatives that we formed.

So a lot of times it seems that whatever the interest of our steering committee members as well as our partners on earth is what we solicit to advance certain initiatives. So I feel that it's very, this is a multifactorial issue when you say prevention it's hard to know what prevention should look like if you don't have data.

So a lot of times it seems that whatever the interest of our steering committee members as well as our partners on earth is what we solicit to advance certain initiatives. So I feel that it's very, this is a multifactorial issue when you say prevention it's hard to know what prevention should look like if you don't have data.

And so we have focused highly on getting accurate data, current data, and making sure that a recent win in the legislative efforts was to make sure that the data that Minnesota collects is now linked to other Kansas plans as well as to the CDC. And that was something that we requested through the legislature, and it was a win for us. So, you know, accurate data is one.

And so we have focused highly on getting accurate data, current data, and making sure that a recent win in the legislative efforts was to make sure that the data that Minnesota collects is now linked to other Kansas plans as well as to the CDC. And that was something that we requested through the legislature, and it was a win for us. So, you know, accurate data is one.

And we've funded a lot of grants, strategy action grants around breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening. We always have had patient survivors, advocacy groups, and coaches. coalition leaders as part of our members who have gone and brought our message forward, as well as helped bring in the needs of the state and overall the cancer in concern.

And we've funded a lot of grants, strategy action grants around breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening. We always have had patient survivors, advocacy groups, and coaches. coalition leaders as part of our members who have gone and brought our message forward, as well as helped bring in the needs of the state and overall the cancer in concern.

We have also worked with the lung cancer screening task force that was established. And so in addition to screening, you know, the tactical aspect of the technical aspect of screening, There's a lot of information or support that needs to be provided before and after. So we worked in a lot of those support services as well, where we hosted support center events for patients and their families.

We have also worked with the lung cancer screening task force that was established. And so in addition to screening, you know, the tactical aspect of the technical aspect of screening, There's a lot of information or support that needs to be provided before and after. So we worked in a lot of those support services as well, where we hosted support center events for patients and their families.