Columbus leaders used a community gathering this month to turn a national research project into a hometown mission, throwing their weight behind the American Cancer Society’s VOICES of Black Women study. The effort aims to help explain why Black women face higher cancer death rates, and it depends heavily on everyday participation, not lab coats. Through community ambassadors, neighborhood events and online signups, organizers say they are trying to recruit enough women for researchers to finally get solid answers. At an April 13 event in Columbus, civic and nonprofit leaders urged residents to think seriously about joining in.
Local push met national project
As reported by The Columbus Dispatch, the gathering featured former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown and Columbus Urban League president and CEO Stephanie Hightower, who cast recruitment as both a civic responsibility and a public health priority. The Dispatch also noted that VOICES has enrolled roughly 6,000 participants so far, and that local organizers repeatedly stressed trust-building in light of historical mistreatment of Black communities in medical research.
Why researchers say this matters
Black women shoulder an outsized share of the cancer burden: recent analyses show breast cancer death rates for Black women are roughly 40% higher than for white women, and aggressive subtypes are more common in this population, according to American Cancer Society data. Scientists say those gaps grow out of several overlapping factors, including stage at diagnosis, access to high quality care, other health conditions and tumor biology. Filling long-standing data gaps, they argue, is essential if future prevention and treatment strategies are going to work for Black women instead of around them.
What participation looks like
Enrollment happens online and typically starts with a short sign-up form followed by a more detailed baseline questionnaire. Reporting on the study describes that initial survey as taking about 60 to 90 minutes, with shorter follow-up surveys coming later. Coverage of VOICES and community reporting note that participants can move through the questions at their own pace, logging in when it fits their schedule. Local coverage also explains that survey responses are stored separately from names and other personal identifiers, with information entered under study codes to help protect participants’ privacy.
Onstage in Columbus
Speakers at the Columbus event framed VOICES as both a community resource and a chance to influence how Black women are treated in the future. The Dispatch quotes Yvette McGee Brown and other advocates underscoring that the study is actively seeking lived experience as evidence, not just what shows up in clinical charts. They encouraged women who meet the age and eligibility rules to think of enrollment as one more way to look out for their neighbors and families. Organizers in Columbus and other cities are pitching participation as a way to make research finally reflect the people it claims to serve.
Representation and trust
Researchers behind VOICES have said they built the project with extensive community input and with representation in mind on the research team itself. Reporting on the study notes that many leadership and staff roles are filled by Black women, a choice organizers say is meant to help build trust and keep the work grounded in lived experience. That approach, they add, is one way of directly addressing the long history that has left some Black communities understandably wary of medical research.
How to add your voice
VOICES is recruiting Black women ages 25 to 55 who have not had cancer, with certain non-melanoma skin cancers excepted. Participants who enroll can use a secure online portal to complete surveys and to learn about optional substudies. For basic study information and to register, the American Cancer Society maintains a VOICES information and enrollment portal for prospective participants.
Local leaders say the science lives or dies on participation numbers, and they argue that the sooner more women sign up, the sooner researchers can start testing solutions aimed at finally closing the cancer gap for Black women.
