News & Events

In partnership with the UI Health Lung Cancer Screening Program, the University of Illinois Cancer Center Office of Community Engagement and Health Equity created the “Building Resources for Education and Awareness for the Health of Lungs” (BREATHE) program.

BREATHE seeks to expand access to lung cancer education, screening awareness and smoking cessation resources for communities on the south and west sides of Chicagoland, prioritizing 20 zip codes with a higher cancer burden. Residents of these 20 zip codes face 13 – 26% higher rates of lung cancer incidence and mortality, as well as 25% higher smoking rates, as compared to the nation. 

The program goal is to navigate and educate 5,000 community members annually and refer 200 of the 5,000 to low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screenings. LDCT screenings are used to detect lung cancer in its early stages, particularly in individuals at high risk due to smoking history. Black residents of Cook County have higher rates of lung cancer and are more likely to die from the disease compared to the nation.

To meet these goals, the program is set to hold up to 30 annual community outreach and engagement activities in churches, barbershops, schools, parks, community events, health fairs and more, before the grant ends in December 2025.

During outreach events, a dedicated community health worker educates community members on the negative impacts of tobacco use, highlights available smoking cessation resources to aid those in their journey to quit smoking, and discusses the importance of lung cancer screening. 

Community members are also screened for systemic health barriers, which are addressed by connecting individuals to social services (e.g., benefits enrollment, transportation, food pantries, dental care). Those eligible for lung cancer screening are navigated to the UI Health Lung Cancer Screening Program. So far, more than 15 community events have been completed since the project began in January.  

One of those events, hosted in July on the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) campus, was “BREATHE In and Yoga”, a free community event, where attendees learned about lung cancer prevention, smoking cessation resources, breathing techniques, and completed a guided yoga session led by Rich Rootz. The event reached community members, students and UIC staff who participated. The Cancer Center is part of UI Health, the academic health enterprise at UIC.

The team members working on this project include Paola Torres, MPH; Brenda Soto, MPH; Osei Bekoe, MPH; Walter Swift, MPH; Omar Garvin and Jeanette Gonzalez, MSHRMD. 

The BREATHE Program is funded by Johnson and Johnson to cover staff, educational materials and supplies, transportation support and community event expenses.