CHamoru and Filipino breast cancer survivors are invited to participate in a two-part focus group starting this Saturday. The focus group is part of a breast cancer survivorship study being conducted through the University of Guam and is meant to contribute strategies that support a healthy lifestyle among CHamoru, Native Hawaiian, and Filipino women in Guam and Hawai’i.

“Evidence suggests that lifestyle interventions that promote a healthy body weight can reduce breast cancer recurrence, and research shows that independent lifestyle factors that promote survival are physical activity and a diet high in fiber and lower in saturated fat. Yet these studies have taken place outside of Guam and Hawai’i and include few, if any, Asians and Pacific Islanders,” said Tanisha Aflague, an associate professor of nutrition at UOG and a registered dietitian nutritionist who is serving as investigator for the Guam-based portion of the study.

The study — titled TANICA, or Traditional and New Lifestyle Interventions for Breast Cancer Prevention — is a pre-pilot project of the U54 Pacific Island Partnership for Cancer Health Equity (PIPCHE) between the University of Guam and the University of Hawaii.

Research teams in both Guam and Hawai’i are actively recruiting survivors to participate.