Women with breast cancer connect

The Northern Sierra Rural Health Network, which works to improve the quality of women with breast cancer, has been awarded $450,000 of an $850,000 grant to benefit breast cancer research in the state.

Sharing funds with the Stanford University School of Medicine, the two organizations will research the benefits of offering professionally led support groups via videoconferencing to women with breast cancer in rural communities.

Using a television monitor, small groups of women are connected and able to see and hear each other, despite being separated by hundreds of miles.

"The population is just so small in these rural areas that there's really not enough women to sustain a support group," the rural network's director of telehealth, Susan Ferrier, said. "With the videoconferencing, they can all see and hear each other."

Wanting to connect women through technology who are isolated by distance, weather and finances, Mary Anne Kreshka, known for her breast cancer workbook "One in Eight," approached the rural network with an idea to utilize videoconferencing technology.

Testing breast cancer patients in a pilot study from 2003 to 2004, the rural network and Stanford University found that allowing a small group of women to be together in a location that is familiar to them (such as their local clinic) and participate interactively with a facilitator and women at other sites by video was very successful.

"We still felt like we were meeting together and getting support," said Nancy Davis of Quincy, a seven-year cancer survivor and member of the first pilot group. "This program made a big difference not only in my life, but in the lives of the other women."

With the infrastructure and grant intact, the rural network is hoping to connect 40 more sites using technology.

"We're hoping that, through this, we will be able to extend the support groups out to our nine-county region," Ferrier said. "Our first pilot group had about 32 women in it. Our goal for this grant is to enroll 100 women."

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To contact Staff Writer Lindsey Croft, e-mail lindseyc@ theunion.com or call 477-4247.