Dec. 16, 2025
Navigating Cancer Together
Homewood partnership seeks to support people living with cancer, on their terms.
Designs on Aging-Ready
By Emily Nunez, School of Nursing
Research shows that underrepresented and low-income communities face higher cancer risks, fewer resources and worse health outcomes. A new community initiative led by Margaret “Peggy” Rosenzweig, Distinguished Service Professor and oncology nurse practitioner, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, is working to address these disparities by providing crucial resources and support to people living with cancer in Pittsburgh.
Rosenzweig said it will continue to serve as a center for connecting families and patients with cancer to needed resources—and to each other.
A cross between a support group and an educational resource, the initiative provides evidence-based programming to patients with cancer from underserved communities at Pitt’s Community Engagement Center in Homewood. The center plans to offer a range of holistic services, from psychological counseling to grief support to artistic outlets, that allow patients and families to express feelings that are not typically discussed during cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The initiative is supported by the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, as well as members of Pitt's Schools of Nursing, Social Work, and Public Health. Programming will evolve as coordinators collect surveys on the community’s top needs, but Rosenzweig said it will continue to serve as a center for connecting families and patients with cancer to needed resources—and to each other.
“It’s a space where patients and families can acknowledge how difficult cancer has been emotionally and physically,” Rosenzweig says. “There seems to be a need for a place that allows people to come together, in community, to help address the trauma and the experience of cancer.”