Komen Project
Studies of patients treated at Grady Health System and many inner city sites show that more than a third of patients with curable breast cancers drop out of prescribed adjuvant chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both. Studies suggest that a lack of understanding of the disease and the importance of these treatment modalities contribute to patients' lack of adherence to prescribed therapy. It is the goal of the project entitled "Breast Cancer Education at Grady" funded by The Greater Atlanta Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to develop a more concerted patient education program that better describes breast cancer and its treatment, and the importance of therapeutic treatment.

The educational program specifically targets women with breast cancer who historically have been medically underserved. It involves various types of educational tools including audiovisual (videos and PowerPoint presentations), face-to-face individual and group sessions conducted by cancer center staff (physicians, nurses, health educators, social workers, and psychologists), literature (English and Spanish), and web based information (internet access and training in the waiting room and cancer center library). Pre- and post-education evaluations, as well as tracking compliance and levels of treatment adherence are used to assess the effectiveness of the various types of educational tools used in the educational program.