July 22–24, 2008, Sheraton Gateway Hotel, San Francisco International Airport

A Book of Hope is primarily intended to educate a broad public audience about coping with the disease of cancer and cancer survivorship.

In 2004, APIAHF proposed to conduct the Pacific Islander Cancer Survivorship Educational Forum pilot project aimed to educate cancer survivors and health care providers about culturally relevant survivorship issues and provide information about cancer support programs and resources for Pacific Islander communities in Northern and Southern California. Activities in the two-year project included the convening of focus groups, conducting key informant interviews, developing the educational forum curriculum, and coordinating and implementing two educational forums.

The focus groups gathered cancer survivors, health care providers, and community members to exchange information about existing support services and their efficacy in the provision of care, encourage dialogue about the challenges and barriers in patients’ pursuit of healthcare services, and brainstorm methods by which to address patient needs and concerns.

Between March and June 2005, a total of five focus groups were conducted in Southern and Northern California. The focus groups were conducted with Chamorro, Samoan, and Tongan cancer survivors and/or patients.