When these women set a goal, they get it done. Cancer research for Blacks is key priority

I have often heard it said it doesn’t take a lot of people to get things done, all it takes is dedication and a willing mind.

I thought of that phrase when I learned what The Charmettes, a national service organization comprised of Black women, is doing to help combat cancer.

The phrase came true last weekend at the Charmettes’ national convention in Washington when Cecily Robinson Duffie, a North Miami attorney, gave the Howard University Cancer Center a check for $1.05 million, which represented a 43-year commitment to donating funds for cancer research.

Robinson Duffie, who became The Charmettes’ national president in 2022, said at the time she was elected, the organization had already raised $890,000. The Charmettes also includes The Charmers, the members’ spouses.

“That is when I purposed in my heart to reach the $1 million mark within two years. We exceeded our goal by more than $50,000. But the money we donated to Howard is not the only money we raise for cancer,” Robinson Duffie said. “Howard only represents a portion of what we have donated toward cancer research.”

In April, the Miami-Dade chapter celebrated the newly opened Sophia George Research Laboratory at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami medical school. The chapter raised $50,000 for the lab, named for an associate professor in the division of gynecological oncology at the med school.

The Charmettes was founded in 1951 in West Palm Beach by Frankie Drayton Thomas and Gwendolyn Baker Rodgers. The cancer center at Howard was less than 10 years old when The Charmettes began its partnership with the university. Because of The Charmettes’ support, the Gwendolyn Baker Rodgers chemotherapy infusion suite at Howard is named for one of the organization’s founders.

The women who make up The Charmettes are lawyers, educators, pharmacists, nurses, secretaries and others. They come from big cities like Miami, Washington and Atlanta and from small towns like Ocala, Fort Pierce and Palatka. Each chapter is responsible for finding ways to raise funds to support the club’s thrust.

The fact that there are fewer than 500 members nationally makes reaching their goal even sweeter, Robinson Duffie said.

“You won’t find a more dedicated group of women than the women who are proud to be called a ‘Charmette’. Our sisters have worked diligently sponsoring Pink Hat Teas, luncheons, prayer breakfasts and whatever it took to reach our goal,” said Robinson Duffie, who was elected to a second two-year term as president.

Janice Williams, a 36-year member of the organization and its national financial secretary, echoes Robinson Duffie’s sentiments about the dedication of the sisterhood.

“I believe that all our members are on board, wholeheartedly, in our effort to eradicate cancer,” she said. “That is because every year our contributions are getting larger. When we started going for the goal to reach $1 million, I believed that we would go over the million-dollar goal — and we did.”

She said that raising a million dollars by 2024 became the group’s mission in January 2023 at the pre-convention planning meeting: “I just believed in my heart that everyone was as passionate about reaching our goal as I was. Everyone was committed.”

In 1981, the organization adopted a national plan to support Howard University Cancer Center’s efforts to find a cancer cure. It seemed the right route to take since Blacks are at the highest risk for cancer deaths, largely due to no screening and/or late diagnoses.

And while there was a decline in cancer death rates among non-Hispanics Blacks from 2009 to 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they still had the highest age-adjusted cancer death rate during this period, compared with non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics and other demographic groups, the CDC reports.

According to Dr. Carla Williams, director of the Howard University Cancer Center, one of goals of the center is to “... address the disparities with a focus on the African-American community. We try to promote early detection. We also try to make sure that after diagnosis, people are aware of the resources that we have in place to support them through their treatment.”

Over the past 10 years, the center has seen a decline in deaths among Black men from cancer, Williams said.

“The problem is there is still a higher number of Black men getting cancer — 6 percent higher compared to white men.”

She said the upside is that Black men are living longer compared to 10 years ago: “This is due to a combination of early detection and the increase of the quality of treatment.”

While Howard offers most treatments on its campus, Williams said there is also a coalition of HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) medical schools that offer research and treatment to cancer patients. They include Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine in California.

While The Charmettes is proud of its efforts to reach its goal, the work doesn’t stop there, Robinson Duffie said.

“When we adopted a national thrust to support Howard’s cancer research in finding a cure, it was at a time when great medical care and cutting-edge research was often limited for African Americans. But investment of our resources into a historically Black facility guarantees that our research dollars can make an impact in our own community. So, we are in this for the long haul,” she said.

Robinson Duffie and her husband Troy are the parents of five adult children.

“It is extremely humbling and profound for me to serve as national president of the organization of which my mother was a member when I was a child,” she noted. “That adds to my responsibility to lead our sisterhood into further greatness and accomplishment. It is one of my greatest goals.”

And being the national president often means leaving her family and local commitments.

“But it helps to have a supportive and encouraging husband and a loving family. My husband and my children work hard to help make me a successful president, and to put this organization on top,” she said.