Welcome to My Health, My Choice
The My Health, My Choice (MHMC) project focuses on how education, social support, and community environments influence health. The program aims to improve reproductive health knowledge among Native American women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and to better understand how caregivers and healthcare settings impact access to important cancer screenings. MHMC also looks at policies and practices that affect screening programs and evaluates how well the program works for Native American women with IDD, using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to identify what helps or hinders screening participation. MHMC began with funding from the Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention in 2017.
Empowering Native American women with IDD to take charge of their health and well-being!
Learn more about the project’s history HERE
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We're a team of passionate thinkers and doers, dedicated to building with purpose and clarity. Collaboration and curiosity drive everything we do.
The team consists of partners from University of Arizona (UA), Northern Arizona University (NAU), Tucson Indian Center (TIC), and Hopi Cancer Support Services working together to improve cervical and breast wellness exams among Native American Women with IDD.
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We believe in keeping things simple, culturally-relevant, and human. Every project starts with listening and ends with something we're proud to share. MHMC is a culturally grounded health education program co-collaborated and created by NAU and UA.
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Tribal communities in Arizona.
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If you are interested in participating in current research activities, please click here.
To learn more about the research activities you may be participating in, please click here. There are two phases in which you can choose from.
MHMC Team at the 2025 AZ Intertribal Cancer Health Equity Forum (AICHEF) in Flagstaff, AZ.
Project Goals
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Understanding how women make decisions about screening
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Testing My Health My Choice (MHMC) to see if it is better than other programs in supporting women in screening
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Identifying what factors will influence the use of the MHMC program within Native and disability-serving organizations.
We are a team of community and university-based researchers with the goal of improving access to breast and cervical cancer screening for Native American women with disabilities. Our current project is focused on the following:
MHMC Project Hub: C-NACHE
Center for Native American Cancer Health Equity (C-NACHE) is based in Flagstaff, AZ at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Funded by the American Cancer Society (ACS), it drives systemic changes to reduce cancer inequities among Native American tribes through research, screening education, and community advocacy.
To learn more about C-NACHE, click here.
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113 Main St.,
Kykotsmovi, AZ, 86039Hours
Monday-Friday 8 AM - 6 PMPhone
928-734-3401 -
160 N Stone Ave, Tucson, AZ 85701
Hours
Monday–Friday
8 AM-5 PMPhone
520-884-7131
MHMC Partners
Since MHMC'‘s development, Hopi Cancer Support Services and Tucson Indian Center have been part of the team and continue to support the long term goals of MHMC of improving cancer screening among Native American women.
Real Lives: Cancer Stories of Indigenous People
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is deeply committed to supporting Indigenous communities in addressing the health disparities that impact their lives.
Through partnerships focused on education, early detection, and culturally relevant health care services, we are working to ensure Indigenous voices are central to shaping cancer prevention and treatment strategies. In our new documentary series, “Real Lives: Cancer Stories of Indigenous People,” we aim to shed light on the social, economic, and geographic barriers that continue to perpetuate these disparities. The series will highlight the cancer journeys of Indigenous individuals, their caregivers, and communities, offering an authentic perspective from the American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) populations.
Funding for this project is provided by the Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention. National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute. Northern Arizona Grant Number U54CA143925, University of Arizona Cancer Center Grant Number U54CA143924
Northern Arizona University sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, on homelands sacred to Native Americans throughout the region. We honor their past, present, and future generations, who have lived here for millennia and will forever call this place home.
