Members of the Urban Mission’s Neighborhood Community Development Center Advisory Committee held an event planning meeting ahead of National Minority Health Month. In attendance were Sandi Rue, left, and Cynthia Lytle, who were joined virtually by guest Erica Johnson. Other committee members include Renee Thompson, Dr. Vanessa Palmer and Jalil Harvey. Photo by Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — A growing list of partners is helping Urban Mission Ministries Inc. provide potentially life-saving cancer screenings for community members, empowering them to share their stories about the importance of early detection.

In April, the Urban Mission’s Neighborhood Community Development Center will present three free community activities, focusing on cancer education and preventative care. That includes a men’s prostate screening event, women’s mammography screening event and the “I’m a Survivor” four-part video series.

All activities are funded by the Ohio Commission on Minority Health and commemorate April as National Minority Health Month. It’s been more than two decades since Congress established the observance to raise awareness of health disparities faced by minority populations and other groups.

The NCDC’s 2025 Minority Health Month theme is a hashtag for social media: #ScreenItOut. Cynthia Lytle, Urban Mission director of strategic partnerships and community engagement, said the theme should encourage cancer screening patients to tell others about their experience, hopefully motivating them to get screened.

“One person gets that screening and they go and share with that next person,” Lytle said, adding, “We want (community members) to take advantage of the preventative care opportunities and the education opportunities before it’s knocking on your doorstep or knocking on a family member’s doorstep.”

Occurring first is the “I’m a Survivor” video series, episodes from which will premiere every Sunday in April. Videos are free and open to the public, being viewable on the NCDC’s or Urban Mission’s Facebook pages.

An addition to the Urban Mission’s annual Minority Health Month commemoration, the series will feature Ohio Valley natives and their stories of overcoming — or continuing to fight — prostate or breast cancer.

The free mammogram and prostate screening events have become yearly staples for the Urban Mission during Minority Health Month. Lytle expressed gratitude for new and continuing partnerships that enable the events, which target the African American community but are not limited to it.

The women’s mammogram event will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 28. Screenings will be performed in the Tiffany Breast Care Mobile, parked at the Urban Mission main building, 311 N. Sixth St., Steubenville.

Women must be Ohio residents and 40 years old or older to be screened. Questions can be directed to (740) 535-6033.

All women who attend will receive a complimentary swag bag and can take part in an outdoor health fair featuring Buckeye Health Plan, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and the Ohio Valley Health Center.

For women without insurance, the Northern Ohio Breast and Cervical Cancer Project will provide financial assistance to cover their screening, Lytle said. Agency representatives will be present on site to help women fill out their paperwork and get their screening the same day.

Although there will be some opportunity for walk-ins, women are recommended to pre-register and can do so by calling Diversity Health Initiative founder Dr. Vanessa Palmer at (750) 317-0946. The deadline to register is April 21.

This is the DHI’s fifth year partnering for Minority Health Month with the NCDC, the Urban Mission’s neighborhood and community outreach ministry. Palmer, a member of the NCDC’s advisory committee, said she’s glad to see so many partners “working together for the same goal: Prevention and to help people.”

Palmer said her organization works to help women and young girls with mammogram screenings and understand the importance of practicing cancer prevention and breast health. Black women are 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women — a fact that motivates her work, in collaboration with the OVHC and through yearly awareness initiatives.

The prostate screening event is being presented in partnership with Trinity Health System’s Tony Teramana Cancer Center. Screenings will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. April 29 at the center, located at 3204 Johnson Road, Steubenville.

Men ages 40 and older are recommended to pre-register by calling Gretchen Heizler at (740) 264-8700. The deadline to register is April 22.

Also sponsoring the event are the Women in Action Against Cancer Coalition of Jefferson County and CareSource.

“We are grateful for another year of partnership with the Tony Teramana Cancer Center. We’ve been partnering with them for a really long time,” Lytle said. “They provide the space and we work together to secure a local urologist and nurse practitioners who volunteer their time to provide free digital and physical exams. And then that opportunity leads them to connect with the provider, ask questions, connect with the staff at the Teramana cancer center.”

For the women’s and men’s screening events, participants will be entered for the chance to win prizes, after filling out a satisfaction survey for the Ohio Commission on Minority Health. Participants will also receive education and opportunities for follow-up throughout, Lytle said.

“Our teams are connecting our participants to health care providers or, if they don’t have their own primary care physician, there are patient navigators that are going to help them get connected to the next urologist or another PCP that can talk to them about their results and what their next steps need to be. … Regardless of the outcome for the participant, they’re walking away with some information and a screening that can save their lives, literally.”

Lytle said the NCDC’s partnerships have accumulated through the years, and she’d like to see that continue so more community members can be reached.

Local African American churches have been critical partners for spreading the word, Lytle said. Pastors, first ladies and congregation members have been more than willing to close the information gap, letting their communities know about these screening opportunities.

The NCDC aspires to have 30 men and 30 women receive screenings this year. That’s 60 more individuals who’ve received a potentially life-saving screening, been connected with local health care providers and had the door opened to community support, Lytle said

“It says, ‘We’re here for you,’ and I think that means a lot,” she said of the effort.

The community is blessed to have an increasing amount of screening access, through the work of people such as Palmer, Lytle said.

It’s a privilege for the NCDC to present its events, Lytle said, noting the initiative has taken a more personal meaning to committee members this year. Lytle’s own mother underwent a double mastectomy last year, leading Lytle to have her first mammogram.

“It was because I watched my mom follow the proper steps. She went to her doctor’s visits and she got her yearly mammograms. So, she set the example for me and my sisters, and she’s proof that screenings save lives.”

Committee chair Sandi Rue is another living testament to the importance of screenings. A cancer survivor, Rue’s specific form of cancer would not have produced a lump until it was too late, so she credits her yearly mammogram for saving her life.

Rue recalled when an individual advised her: “Tell your story.” Now, she wants others to tell theirs.

“I want those people to get their screening and be able to go out and tell somebody else, so that we can just keep on spreading the word,” she said.