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GwendolynMitchell
AWAKENING HEARTS
IN SERVICE TO THE SACRED
Love Letters to Our Bodies
In 2022, I developed this innovative project for African American and Black Women cancer patients and cancer survivors through the nonprofit organization
Moyo Institute, Inc.
Workshops focused on the mind/body/spirit connection are offered. Participants share their journeys and how cancer has affected the way they relate to their bodies.
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The women's Love Letters are assembled and published in print and audio files. They also receive meditations for support on their journeys.
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The project was offered in partnership with the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic for Integrative Cancer Care in Oakland and Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, DC. The project was funded by the Lloyd Symington Foundation
in 2022 and 2023. The 2024 project will start in the Spring.
Join the Free In-person Workshop
"Love Letters to Our Bodies"
Love Letters 2024
Coming Soon
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According to the American Cancer Society, the incidence of cancer (those who are diagnosed with the disease) in the United States is highest in African Americans. About 224,080 new cancer cases and 73,680 cancer deaths are expected to occur among Black people in 2022. Also, cancer is the leading cause of death among Hispanic people, accounting for 20% of deaths.
People of color have poorer health outcomes with cancer. For instance, statistics from the National Cancer Institute’s “Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program” reveal that:
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Blacks/African Americans have higher death rates than all other racial/ethnic groups for many cancer types.
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Despite having similar rates of breast cancer, Black/African American women are more likely than White women to die of the disease.
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Hispanic/Latino and Black/African American women have higher rates of cervical cancer than women of other racial/ethnic groups, with Black/African American women having the highest rates of death from the disease.
The incidence of cancer (those who are diagnosed with the disease) in the United States is highest in African Americans. We each can make a contribution to improving these statistics from understanding contributing factors, helping loved ones navigate their fears, trauma and suffering, providing comfort, researching and sharing helpful information, encouraging lifestyle changes and early medical care or participation in clinical trials.
We all have extensive connections with African American women through personal networks. Someone’s mother, sister, aunt, daughter, wife, lover, or friend has cancer. Reach out through your personal networks to reach as many women as possible. ​
