On this page we highlight information and/or events that just don’t need much space to be interesting or effective. Reading this page will keep you “in the know.”

A is for our AMAZING new website which will launch on April 30. We will now be incorporated within the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center site, but our current URL (komentissuebank.iu.edu) will still take you to the new home page. Please check it out in May and send us any feedback.

B is for Back in Business! The KTB is once again exploring options to hold collection events in other cities and states. It takes 12-18 months to plan an out-of-town event, but we are in talks with a couple of possible connections and will likely hold our first post-pandemic remote event sometime in late 2025.  

C is for Colin Ferguson, who joined the KTB late last year as Application Developer. But what about the marvelous Sam Rysdyk, you say? No worries – Sam was promoted to IT Project Manager for all of BC², and is still in our circle. So, welcome to Colin, and congratulations to Sam!

ONE: Let’s update your knowledge a bit about the impact of breast cancer on our populations. Breast cancer in men is “rare,” but did you know that one in every 726 men in the United States develops breast cancer? That means that if the average NBA arena was full of an audience of only men, about 28 of those men will develop breast cancer. Also, did you know that breast cancer is the most common cancer in people 15 to 39 years old? Thank you for helping the KTB address (and change!) these statistics.

TWO: Would you like to know about some of the research leading to, or resulting from, the robust KTB participation of minoritized population members? Here are simplified lay summaries of two studies. The first (A Novel Qualitative Approach for Identifying Effective Communication for Recruitment of Minority Women to a Breast Cancer Prevention Study) is qualitative research that helps increase participation, and the second (Inflammation Markers on Benign Breast Biopsy are Associated with Risk of Invasive Breast Cancer in African American Women) outlines clinical research conducted with our samples. You can click here to see more lay summaries of published KTB research.

THREE: The KTB has been focusing on updating our social media posts, and we are now on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, and TikTok. Please follow us using @komentissuebank, or search for Komen Tissue Bank. Check out our TikTok post as we joined the “of course” trend!

EXTRA! EXTRA! The KTB is holding two focus groups for men, to help us develop appropriately targeted messaging about the tissue bank. We still need a few more participants. If you or someone you know is a cis-gender male at least 18 years of age, we would love you to participate. You can register here, or email Kathi Ridley-Merriweather keridley@iu.edu with any questions. The incentive to participate in this 3-hour focus group is $50 per hour, and dinner will be served.