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Editorial
. 2025 May 8;17(5):e83727.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.83727. eCollection 2025 May.

Early Implementation of the Navigator-Assisted Hypofractionation (NAVAH) Program in Hispanic-American Breast Cancer Patients

Shearwood McClelland Iii  1 , Abizairie Sanchez-Feliciano  2 , Nelly Davila  3 , Tamika K Smith  4 , Ursula J Burnette  4 , Louisa Onyewadume  5 , Chesley W Cheatham  4
Affiliations
Editorial

Early Implementation of the Navigator-Assisted Hypofractionation (NAVAH) Program in Hispanic-American Breast Cancer Patients

Shearwood McClelland Iii et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Although cancer-related mortality in the United States (US) has generally been decreasing, this has not occurred among Hispanic populations, where cancer is the leading cause of death. The population growth of the Hispanic population in the US from 2010 to 2021 was substantially larger than the overall US population growth rate (24% vs. 7%). This increased population growth adds importance to addressing cancer care delivery barriers facing this patient population. We discuss early implementation of the Navigator-Assisted Hypofractionation (NAVAH) program in addressing these barriers.

Keywords: breast cancer; financial toxicity; hispanic ethnicity; patient navigation; radiation therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: This implementation of the NAVAH program for Hispanic breast cancer patients was sponsored by the Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative of Northern Ohio [UM1TR004528 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) component of the National Institutes of Health and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research] at Case Western Reserve University Research Equity, Accessibility, Diversity, & Inclusion (READI) Clinical Trials Barrier Elimination Pilot. . Financial relationships: Shearwood McClelland III, M.D. declare(s) a grant from National Institutes of Health (National Cancer for Advancing Translational Sciences). Shearwood McClelland III, M.D. declare(s) a grant from Gilead Sciences. Gilead Sciences Research Scholars Program in Solid Tumors Award. Shearwood McClelland III, M.D. declare(s) a grant from Radiation Oncology Institute. Shearwood McClelland III, M.D. declare(s) a grant from Susan Komen. Susan G Komen Career Catalyst Research Grant. Shearwood McClelland III, M.D. declare(s) a grant from Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation. Robert A Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials Program Career Development Award. Chesley Cheatham declare(s) a grant from American Cancer Society. Chesley Cheatham declare(s) a grant from NatureStone Flooring. Abizairie Sanchez-Feliciano declare(s) a grant from American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). 2023 ASTRO Medical Student Fellowship. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

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