Created in 1995, Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) brings doctors and scientists together with the common goal of learning more about cancer and how it can be better prevented and treated. In 2001, HCI launched a special program designed to meet the needs of Native Americans. The goal of Huntsman Cancer Institute’s Native American Outreach Program is to meet the particular needs of American Indian/Alaska Native people. This program is built on respect for culture and tradition and on heartfelt concern for the high number of cancer deaths among American Indian/Alaska Natives.

1. More than any other racial group, American Indians and Alaska Natives continue to have the poorest survival of all cancers combined.[1]
2. Cancer is the second leading cause of death among Native Americans more than 45 years of age.[2.3]
3. Cancer rates previously reported to be lower in American Indian and Alaska Natives increased in these groups during the past twenty years.[2.3]
4. Cancer data for American Indians/Alaska Natives from one region of the United States cannot be used to generalize to Native people living in another part of the country.[1]
5. The types of cancer experienced within Native communities vary significantly by geographic region with some unusual patterns (such as colon and lung cancer among Alaska Natives; lung, cervical, breast, and prostate cancer among Northern Plains tribes; and stomach and gallbladder cancer among Southwest tribes).[1]

Sources:
1. Annual Report of the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2004, Featuring Cancer in American Indians and Alaska Natives. 1. http://crchd.cancer.gov/disparities/examples.html

2.3. US Department of Health and Human Services. Indian Health Service. Trends in Indian health 1998-99. Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service; 2000.2 Cobb N, Paisano RE. Patterns of cancer mortality among Native Americans. Cancer 1998; 83(11):2377-83.3

Phyllis Pettit Nassi, MSW, manager of special populations at Huntsman Cancer Institute, is enrolled in the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and a member of the Cherokee Nation. She has traveled extensively throughout the western United States and Alaska to help educate American Indians, Alaska Natives, African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics about cancer prevention and treatment. She is also a graduate student at the University of Utah, College of Social Work, pursuing a PhD.

Associations

• Member, American Association Cancer Educators
• Advocate, American Association for Cancer Research, Scientist-Survivor Program
• Member, American College of Surgeons Oncology Group, Patient Advocacy Committee; Peer Review and Prioritization Committee
• Advisory board member, Cancer Information and Support Network
• Advisory board member, College/Graduate Horizons
• Member, Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities
• Member, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute , Director's Consumer Liaison Group
• Co-Chair Southwest region, Intercultural Cancer Council
• Member, National Children’s Study, National Steering Committee; Community and Participant Representative Team
• Member, Susan G. Komen for the Cure American Indian Alaska Native National Advisory Council

Lynne Hall, MSW, is the administrative program coordinator for the Native American Outreach Program. Lynne is enrolled in the Klamath Tribes and a descendent of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Lynne travels throughout the Intermountain West attending health fairs, conferences, and powwows to educate American Indians/Alaska Natives about cancer and the importance of early detection. She is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research.