Imagine being deaf and blind for the first five years of your life. Such was the case for Sophia Tolliver, growing up as a military child in Okinawa, Japan. She was deaf to the experiences that awaited her and her family in the United states. she was blind to the health inequities and disparities that existed, and that would ultimately have a lasting effect on her life.
Once stateside, the events and struggles of a disadvantaged community began to play out like a bad movie script. Her parents divorced, and she and her abbreviated family found themselves dependant on the government system, family and friends. Lifestyle habits, addictions, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer were common health concerns of her family and her entire community. Access to treatment and information for such ailments was less prevalent. sophia became insistently curious as to why these diseases were so rampant among the people she was surrounded by.
After years of studies, she became fully entrenched in the distorted world of public health – racial and ethnic health disparities – once she became the Program Manager of the Diversity Enhancement Program at The James Cancer Hospital. she passionately works with underserved and minority populations to save lives via cancer prevention, early detection, clinical trials, and research education. “I am convinced that making small changes in one’s present lifestyle can lead to significant, positive health outcomes later in life.”
Aside from her day-to-day business, sophia has also developed specialty programs such as Healthy spirits, Health Bodies: a faith-based breast cancer awareness program for African- American women; and In The Pink: a mother-daughter health awareness program for Girl scouts in Central Ohio. With the little time she has left, she also volunteers at The Columbus Medical Association’s Free Clinic.
To learn more about sophia’s work with The Diversity Enhancement Program, visit: jamesline.com/patientsandvisitors/ support/diversity/Pages/index.aspx ▪