Walking Forward

American Indians from the Northern Plains have one of the highest cancer mortality rates in the US, almost 30% higher than all other races.

In 2003, the John T. Vucurevich Regional Cancer Care Institute was awarded a $5.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate health care disparities among Native Americans. The Cancer Care Institute serves approximately 100,000 Native Americans from surrounding reservations. Some patients live up to four hours from the cancer center.  

To date, Walking Forward has achieved tremendous success as evident from the outcomes achieved such as:

• Increased trust among American Indian community members.
• High participation rate among American Indians in several clinical trials offered at Rapid City Regional Hospital.
• Higher completion rates for treatment among navigated patients, which often leads to higher survival rates