O.C. Asian American groups form partnership to boost cancer screenings

With cancer being the leading cause of death for Asian Americans in Orange County, five key community organizations have banned together to sound a singular message: Get screened.

The newly formed Orange County Asian American Cancer Partnership held a kick-off celebration at the offices of Southland Integrated Services in Garden Grove.

“We expect not only to bridge cancer gaps for the 35,000 folks we already serve, but to expand cancer care access to upwards of 10,000 medical patients across diverse linguistic, cultural and geographic communities,” said Ellen Ahn, chief executive of Korean Community Services.

The coalition brings together Korean Community Services, Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance, Southland Integrated Services, the Cambodian Family and the Vital Access Care Foundation, which is also known as the Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation.

Together, the partnership aims to train patient navigators to educate the Asian American community, through all its diversity, about cancer prevention.

“This doesn’t happen through one agency or just through CEOs,” Ahn added. “It’s really a partnership with systems.”

Asian Americans are the only racial group where cancer, not heart disease, is the leading cause of death.

While Asian Americans have lower overall cancer rates compared to other ethnic groups, studies show that they are also less likely to get screened.

Screenings are vital for breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancer, which are easily identifiable and curable, if found in time.

Dr. Richard Pitts, CalOptima’s chief medical officer, stressed the importance of screenings as he donned a pink lab coat for the celebration.

Pitts keeps the coat on as a reminder to all that even as Breast Cancer Awareness Month ends in October, breast cancer, itself, does not.

“We have to change the narrative so we’re all on the same page,” he said. “We understand that a little bit of fear is fine, but you have to channel it into action. Everybody here should ask five people they know if they’re up to date on their cancer screenings.”

Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong shares her own experiences as a cancer survivor in encouraging screenings.

(Courtesy OCAPICA)

In 2022, CalOptima announced a five-year, $50.1 million Comprehensive Community Cancer Screening and Support Program.

Ahn helped organize a successful bid for a grant, which forged the O.C. Asian American Cancer Partnership with CalOptima.

“Having a program like this that can navigate people to screen, we can get screened earlier,” said Mary Anne Foo, executive director of OCAPICA. “We can find cancers earlier. Having a program that talks about cancer prevention and treatment … is so vital to Asian Americans. We’re just thrilled to be a part of this program.”

Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, an Orange County Health Care Agency health officer, reinforced the need to more openly discuss cancer prevention in the community.

Chinsio-Kwong, a cancer survivor herself, noted that lung cancer is on the rise for Asian American women under 50 who aren’t smokers with the reason why not yet known.

“We need to pay attention to our bodies, talk to our friends, talk to our community, spread the word, so that we can save more lives,” she said. “If you do get that diagnosis, tell your friends, tell your family [and] they will be there to support you.”

Other cancer survivors spoke at the event in an effort to further shrug off any stigma.

Dr. Thuy Ahn Nguyen, chief medical officer for Southland Integrated Services, shared her own experiences.

In 2020, an ultrasound text and biopsy led to a stage two breast cancer diagnosis, which was an early enough detection to successfully treat it.

“I am very grateful that I survived,” Nguyen said. “It taught me to cherish every moment, to appreciate little things and never take life for granted.”