Clinical Outreach Initiative
The Cancer Care Equity Program (CCEP) holds on-site cancer outreach clinics at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) staffed by a Dana-Farber clinical team, including a Physician Assistant, Nurse Director, Social Worker, Genetics Counselor, and Patient Navigator. Clinical services include:
- Cancer screening
- Diagnostic workups and follow-up care
- Reconnection to cancer care
- Referrals for second opinions
- Genetic cancer risk evaluations and testing
- Cancer survivorship care
- Provider and community education
- Patient navigation
Primary care providers at outreach clinic sites can refer adult patients with:
- New, existing, or past cancer diagnosis
- Benign hematology diagnosis (neutropenia, anemia, clotting disorders, thrombocytopenia)
- Breast issues (abnormal mammography studies, lumps, pain, or discharge)
- Any worrisome (cancer related) symptoms without clear cause (lumps, bumps, bruises, weight loss)
If a patient has an active cancer issue, the CCEP navigates them to Dana-Farber and/or another cancer facility for further care. For benign issues, the CCEP connects patients to specialty care for follow-up. The program’s goal is to reduce disparities in cancer diagnosis and treatment for historically marginalized communities by:
- Decreasing wait times for diagnosis and treatment of cancer
- Increasing awareness and knowledge of cancer prevention and treatment
- Fostering trust with providers and patients
- Creating a research cohort of patients for observational and interventional studies
- Increasing enrollment of diverse populations in clinical trials
- Creating a model for addressing the health disparities gap in cancer care