What's the 'lived experience' of diverse Americans? A large-scale NIH survey is seeking the answer.

• The National Institutes of Health’s All of Us research program is seeking to create the largest biomedical database of 1 million diverse people across the nation.
• Studies already underway using All of Us data include exploring cancer among Hispanic immigrants and U.S.-born Hispanics, mental health and environmental stressors of pregnant Black people, and LGBTQ health.

Though four of Mary Anne Foo’s aunts had breast cancer, her family rarely spoke of the disease. One aunt even underwent surgery and didn’t tell anyone, driving herself home from the operation and treatments.

Research has shown breast cancer rates increased as much as six-fold for Asian women after immigrating to the United States.

But, Foo wondered, what about women like her aunts, who have lived here for generations? Are there environmental factors that have put them at risk? Is it diet-related? How does stigma impact diagnosis and treatment of Asian American women?

Foo had all these questions and more. “We have all of this breast cancer – we should be talking about why,” she said. “If we could get data about the community, and get that information out there, we’d be able to explain.”