Bridging the Divide: Collaborating to Crush Cancer

Madhurya Sai Amirapu, MD, Chair of Communities Crushing Cancer 2025, contributed this article. Dr. Amirapu is Chief Resident at Saint Vincent Hospital, Massachusetts.

Somiah Almeky, MD, and Liz Lin, MD, two ambitious radiology residents, founded Communities Crushing Cancer (CCC) in 2022 to give radiology residencies across the country the opportunity to participate in a two- to three-hour cancer screening awareness initiative. Here, radiology residents take the lead in talking to patients about basic screening guidelines, common risk factors and our roles as diagnosticians.

Each program liaison is provided with a CCC toolkit containing guides, checklists and as many tips as possible to make it easy for them to successfully hold the event. We revamp these materials every year based on past liaison feedback and our own experiences. We also continue to encourage programs to get creative with their tables and experiences, which many have found to be rewarding.

The Radiology Health Equity Coalition (RHEC), led and funded by the ACR®, is a big supporter, providing t-shirts for participants and helping to foster a sense of unity. RHEC support continues to motivate us to encourage groups to hold the event at the same time and on the same day every year! Over the past three years, CCC has proven to be a wellness and bonding experience for the participants, serving as a reminder that we are in this effort together.

As Chair of this year’s CCC event, I felt strongly that we not only maintain our momentum, but that we also continue to grow its relevance. One major change implemented this year is to encourage the involvement of patient navigators to help direct interested members to the right resources at the table. It was extremely rewarding to see eligible patients signing up for mammograms at the table after having personally educated them on the benefits.

The cornerstone of our initiative is to make this information accessible to patients. As such, we created brochures on breast, colon and lung cancer screening, based on the ACR Appropriateness Criteria®. Additionally, we are continuing to grow our content with a new colon cancer screening brochure that includes updated information on CT colonography under the inspirational leadership of Elizabeth McFarland, MD, FACR, from the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. We already have plans to create a new hepatocellular carcinoma brochure as well.

Overall, we have grown from eight participating sites to 60 sites in just three years. We saw approximately 90% repeat participation from last year, which also confirmed the impact and sense of fulfillment CCC has had on radiology trainees. These numbers and the overwhelmingly positive feedback speak volumes. We believe this is all in direct response to CCC filling an underrecognized void — volunteer opportunities for budding radiologists, which allow them to reconnect with the public.

Our reach continues to grow in breadth and depth with radiation oncology joining the fold this year. We are so happy to be working side-by-side with these amazing residents in addition to increasing numbers of medical students and volunteer groups such as the Promise Fund. We encourage groups to hold individual CCC events whenever and wherever convenient for them.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of our hardworking liaisons and amazing CCC 2025 taskforce members, many of whom joined us this year, bringing fresh perspectives and energy. This has been an important leadership and administrative opportunity for many trainees.

We would also be remiss not to mention the support of multiple ACR and ACR Resident and Fellow Section leaders, whose support meant a great deal and helped us reach many more radiology residency programs and medical students. CCC is also a vehicle for fostering new, purpose-driven connections between various organizations and stakeholders. It has been very fulfilling to see CCC grow as a program and with so much more potential.

We look forward to continuing to expand, collaborate and crush cancer together!