Spotlight On: Trials of Color
Trials of Color aims to educate the Black community on the importance of clinical trials in breast and colorectal cancer.
In 2015, Sharon Rivera-Sanchez was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. When she completed her treatment, she asked her doctor if it would come back. He simply told her to go home and wait.
“What am I waiting for?” Rivera-Sanchez asked.
“Any pain that won’t go away,” her doctor responded.
“That didn’t sit well,” Rivera-Sanchez says. Not long after, she was watching Good Morning America, and heard about a clinical trial for patients who’d been treated for triple-negative breast cancer and wanted to reduce their risk of recurrence.
She dialed the number on the screen and enrolled. She got in, but there was a catch — the trial was in California.
Rivera-Sanchez lived in Virginia at the time, and found it difficult, not to mention expensive, to make the trek across the country. What’s more, the trial would be for two years and required her to travel every 90 days. “It was next to impossible to get to California,” Rivera-Sanchez says. When a similar clinical trial came up at the University of Pennsylvania, Rivera-Sanchez jumped at the chance.
Though she was saving money on plane tickets, she was still paying for her own hotel, gas, and other expenses that her insurance wouldn’t cover.
In 2018, Rivera-Sanchez’s difficulty finding out about clinical trials and her experience trying to cover expenses prompted her to start Trials of Color, an organization focused on educating the Black community about the importance of clinical trials in breast cancer. The organization widened its lens to include colorectal cancer after Rivera-Sanchez's brother died of the disease in 2021, less than two months after he was diagnosed.
Their Goal
Trials of Color’s main goal is to educate and give back to the cancer community, particularly those who are underserved, Rivera-Sanchez says. The organization also advocates for more inclusivity in clinical trials and other cancer research.
“I noticed there weren't a lot of people that actually looked like me,” says Rivera-Sanchez of her own experience with clinical trials. Today, Trials of Color serves as a voice for Black and brown people in the cancer community, Rivera-Sanchez says.
Services They Provide
Most of Trials of Color’s work is boots on the ground — they go out into these communities to educate people about breast and colorectal cancer. “There’s a lot of things you can do from a computer, but if you’re talking about underserved [communities], some of them don’t even have access to the internet,” Rivera-Sanchez says.
The organization has a Teach One, Reach One program, designed to raise awareness of colorectal cancer in underserved and minority communities in Petersburg, Virginia. The program aims to teach people more about the disease, with a focus on prevention and screening, then encourages them to pass that information on.
Additionally, on their site, you can find more information about breast and colon cancer, how the disease impacts the Black community in particular, and clinical trials.
Before Trials of Color was founded, Rivera-Sanchez created a complementary organization called Saving Pennies 4 a Cure.
Its goal is to provide personal care and household items to patients going through cancer treatment. The idea was born after Rivera-Sanchez had gone through treatment and realized that the products in her routine were no match for chemotherapy. “Chemo can dry your skin out way beyond anything you can imagine,” Rivera-Sanchez says.
Events
Trials of Color hosts an annual blanket drive, Comfort and Cheer, toward the end of the year. The organization collects blankets and brings them to hospitals, giving them an opportunity to connect with patients and talk to them about clinical trials.
Rivera-Sanchez also participates in a number of panels, many of which are virtual. To find more information on the roundtable discussions Trials of Color will be participating in, check out their Instagram, @trialsofcolor.
Core Belief
“We believe that everyone counts, regardless of where you come from,” says Jesutomi Akomolafe, Trials of Color’s communications manager. When it comes to new technology and treatment options, especially, everyone should be able to understand and have access to all of their options, Akomolafe says.
“No one should walk alone,” Rivera-Sanchez says. “It’s an awful disease, it’s a life-threatening disease, but everyone should have the exact same level of care.”