Background

In response to community concerns about cancer, Katie Cueva and Jen Schmidt (two professors at UAA) held sharing circles in November 2019 in Noatak, Noorvik, and Kotzebue. They talked with community members, high school students, teachers/school staff, and health professionals about developing cancer education for youth. They talked with 122 people in 13 sharing circles.

Community members, high school students, teachers/staff, and health professionals shared that they wanted information on cancer for young people in their communities.

As a student said: “Yes, we need to get informed and be more aware of it.”

Here is what people told us:

What do you think high school students should know/learn about cancer?

  • How to prevent cancer, including by eating healthy foods and getting screened (all sharing circles)

      • “Foods to eat to prevent cancer like avoiding sugary drinks”

  • What causes cancer, like smoking (12 of 13 sharing circles)

      • “Encourage them not to smoke/dip”

  • Types of cancer (8 sharing circles)

  • Cancer treatments (6 sharing circles)

  • Noorvik: In 4/4 sharing circles, people asked for information on cancer prevention, in 3/4, people asked for information on cancer causes

  • Noatak: In 5/5 sharing circles, people asked for information on cancer prevention, in 5/5, people asked for information on cancer causes

  • Kotzebue: In 4/4 sharing circles, people asked for information on cancer prevention, in 4/4, people asked for information on cancer causes

What would be best ways for youth to learn about cancer?

  • Stories of local people, cancer survivors, and role models (11 sharing circles)

  • Visuals (8 sharing circles)

  • Northwest Arctic data and statistics (8 sharing circles)

Are there any cancer resources for youth in your community? If so, what are they?

      • No existing resources (4 sharing circles)

      • Some resources, but only in Kotzebue (3 sharing circles)

          • “Maniilaq has items (like pigs lungs), but need people and logistics to reach people in villages”

What should we know as we plan cancer education for high school students in your community?

  • Work with sports teams (3 sharing circles)

  • Educate people younger than high school (3 sharing circles)

      • “Include middle schoolers or elementary – high school may be too late for behavior change (smoking)”

Thank you to everyone that shared their time and thoughts with us! We look forward to talking with the Community Advisory Board to guide our next steps as we work to support cancer education in Noatak, Noorvik, and Kotzebue!

Thank you for viewing our site. Please take a short survey about your experiences here.