Every year cancer kills more Alaska Natives than any other group in the state. Thursday afternoon, American Cancer Society officials recognized this horrible fact with a huge financial commitment to fight the statistics.

Over the next five years ACS officials will awarded Alaska Native Heath Consortium Dr. Melany Cueva's a total of $627,000. Her goal is to use the money and develop arts-based cancer education for Alaska Natives and their health care providers.

Since there are no words for cancer in any of the Alaska Native languages Cueva's idea is to turn to Alaska Natives strong oral tradition of telling stories and music and create a new way for Alaska Natives and their community health aides and practitioners to understand cancer.

"So to look at ways that we can invite the use of expressive arts," Cueva says. "The use of dance. Of song. Of story. The story through song. The story through dance. The stories we carry in our hearts. How we can come together to make a difference in cancer disparities."

Cueva is the first Alaskan to receive an American Cancer Society grant in the last 42 years. The study aims to identify exactly what are Alaska Natives cultural concepts about cancer, determine ways arts can be used to convey

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cancer information, and design an effective way to communicate cancer education to Alaska Native people.

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