The Office of Community Outreach & Engagement for the Fred Hutch/University of Washington/Seattle Children's Cancer Consortium facilitates and enhances collaborations to address health disparities. In Washington State and across the Nation, the unequal and unjust burden of cancer is evidenced by the fact that many individuals within diverse communities (African Americans, American Indians, Alaska
Natives, Asians, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, immigrants such as Pakistanis/Indians and Russians, people of low socioeconomic status, rural populations, and LGBTQ+ people) are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage disease and/or die from preventable cancers that may have been detected with early screening. Reducing this burden requires a deliberate, comprehensive, and participatory approach to understanding and addressing cancer health disparities across the cancer control continuum from prevention to end-of-life care. Recognizing the urgency and persistence of this issue, the Office of Community Outreach & Engagement works to meet this challenge of addressing health disparities that exist in Washington State.
