With an ever-growing breadth of supportive services, the TOUCH Care program aims to move the needle on addressing breast cancer clinical trial disparities for Black women.

(Black PR Wire) ANNAPOLIS, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance (TOUCHBBCA), and Unite for HER, a national nonprofit, announce a strategic alliance to increase the quality of care for Black women in cancer clinical trials.

Through this partnership, TOUCHBBCA and Unite for HER will fund and deliver integrative services and therapies to breast and ovarian cancer patients involved in clinical trials. Additionally, Unite for HER will provide patients living with metastatic breast cancer or recurrent ovarian cancer with $2,000 of integrative therapies and services every six months, renewable for life. Patient services include nutrition counseling, meal deliveries, mental health resources, yoga, Reiki, fitness memberships, and more. By embracing a broad range of integrative modalities, individuals gain the knowledge and tools to customize a wellness program according to their unique needs and preferences. This empowerment can foster a sense of control over their health and provide new avenues to manage symptoms, reduce stress, and enhance their quality of life.

“We could not be more honored to partner with TOUCH, linking arms to ensure those enrolled in clinical trials have access to these critical resources and therapies, helping them better adhere to treatments,” says Sue Weldon, CEO and Founder of Unite for HER. “Through this partnership, patients in TOUCH Care will have the opportunity to gain access to integrative therapies at no cost, helping them manage side effects and symptoms without more drugs and prescriptions. This integrative approach during a clinical trial can minimize greatly the risk of abandonment of treatment, having a positive impact on their health outcomes and quality of life. Together Unite for HER and TOUCH will provide a comprehensive integrative approach that addresses their physical, emotional, and psychological needs at a time when they are in most need of support.”

“Our major strategic thrust at TOUCHBBCA is to advance the science for Black Breast Cancer. That can only happen by enrolling and maintaining Black women with breast cancer in clinical trials in numbers that are commensurate with the burden of the disease. TOUCH Care allows pharmaceutical companies to enhance their recruiting and maintenance efforts with our unprecedented nurse navigation services,” says Ricki Fairley, CEO and Co-Founder of TOUCHBBCA. “Now, with the support of Unite For HER’s arsenal of integrative services, we can holistically support patients and enhance their quality of care throughout the trials. We are ecstatic that we can bring this groundbreaking service to our pharmaceutical partners in hopes that we can make significant improvements in the current 3% clinical trial participation rate of Black women.”

TOUCHBBCA has a history of successful initiatives, including in 2023, TOUCHBBCA was recognized by The White House Cancer Moonshot program with the launch of TOUCH Care, a first-of-its-kind Black survivor-led Nurse Navigator Service, aimed at improving the clinical trial process for Black women diagnosed with breast cancer. TOUCH Care focuses on driving trial matching and recruiting, assisting with the application process, managing the informed consent process, and providing coaching and counseling throughout the trial. This initiative provides on-staff nurse and patient navigators to optimize the patient experience for Black women. The TOUCH Care team works with pharmaceutical partners, researchers, and investigators to curate culturally agile, patient-centric trial experiences.

To learn more visit: uniteforher.org/touchbbca

About TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance

TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance works to drive the collaborative efforts of patients, survivors, advocates, advocacy organizations, health care professionals, researchers and pharmaceutical companies to work collectively, with accountability, towards the common goal of advancing science to eradicate Black Breast Cancer. Though there are numerous breast cancer advocacy groups and stakeholders, there is a need to bring all patients, survivors, advocates, advocacy organizations, health care professionals, researchers and pharmaceutical companies together to serve as allies in this army to fight Black Breast Cancer. No one entity can accomplish this alone. Our work requires collaboration, partnership, shared resources and consistent action, where we can share knowledge and hold each other accountable towards this critical goal. For more information, visit touchbbca.org.

About Unite For HER

Unite For Her Unite for HER is a 501(c)3 national nonprofit organization that supports breast cancer and ovarian cancer patients by providing integrative therapies, services, education, resources, and support at no personal cost. Our vision is that every person with breast and ovarian cancers will feel the support of a loving community, and will have access to comprehensive education, services, and tools that enrich their health and well-being. We are on a mission is to enrich the health and well-being of those diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancers – for life – by funding and delivering integrative therapies. For more information visit uniteforher.org.

Source: Touch, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance