First Lady Touts UArizona Cancer Center’s Tribal Outreach
First lady Jill Biden, EdD, spoke with members of the UArizona Cancer Center and the Tohono O’odham Nation during her visit to the San Xavier Health Center to promote the Cancer Moonshot initiative on March 8, 2022.
First lady Jill Biden, EdD, and Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, visited the San Xavier Health Center in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation on Tuesday to highlight the work being done by the University of Arizona Cancer Center as part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative.
In 2020, the Cancer Center received a $3 million, three-year award from the initiative to increase colorectal cancer screening in Arizona’s American Indian communities.
“The University of Arizona Cancer Center is so pleased that the Biden Administration has reignited the Cancer Moonshot,” said Joann Sweasy, PhD, director of the UArizona Cancer Center. “Funding for this initiative is essential to prevent and cure cancer.”
At the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center headquartered in Arizona, UArizona Cancer Center researchers are working to reduce disparities by expanding the use of proven cancer prevention and early-detection strategies.
First lady Jill Biden, EdD, shakes hands with Jennifer Hatcher, PhD, MPH, RN, professor in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and UArizona Cancer Center associate director for community outreach and engagement.
Jennifer Hatcher, PhD, MPH, RN, (right) professor in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and UArizona Cancer Center associate director for community outreach and engagement, speaks with first lady Jill Biden, EdD, during her visit to the San Xavier Health Center to promote the Cancer Moonshot initiative on March 8, 2022.
First lady Jill Biden, EdD, greets Francine Gachupin, PhD, MPH, assistant professor at the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson and member of the UArizona Cancer Center Cancer Prevention and Control Program. Dr. Gachupin, who is a tribal member of the Pueblo of Jemez in New Mexico, is the lead for the Native American Cancer Prevention Grant at the Cancer Center.
Four cultural runners escort first lady Jill Biden's motorcade onto the Tohono O'odham Nation during a visit to the San Xavier Health Center in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation March 8, 2022.
Jerry Carlyle, vice chairman of the San Xavier District, tips his hat as he greets first lady Jill Biden, EdD, at the San Xavier Health Center in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation on March 8, 2022.
Jerry Carlyle, vice chairman of the San Xavier District, prepares to give a blessing to first lady Jill Biden, EdD, at the San Xavier Health Center in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation on March 8, 2022.
Joann Sweasy, PhD, (left) director of the UArizona Cancer Center, greets first lady Jill Biden, EdD, during her visit to the San Xavier Health Center in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation on March 8, 2022.
University of Arizona Health Sciences’ Rachna Shroff, MD, College of Medicine – Tucson; Joann Sweasy, PhD, UArizona Cancer Center; Jennifer Hatcher, PhD, MPH, RN, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health; and Monica Yellowhair, College of Medicine – Tucson, all represented UArizona Health Sciences during first lady Jill Biden’s, EdD, visit to the San Xavier Health Center in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation on March 8, 2022.
Ned Norris Jr., (left) chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation, welcomes first lady Jill Biden, EdD, as she visits the San Xavier Health Center in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation on March 8, 2022.
Xavier Becerra, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, accompanied first lady Jill Biden, EdD, on a tour of the San Xavier Health Center in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation on March 8, 2022.