Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
In this deeply impactful We Talk Weekly interview, Dr. Nia Imani Bailey shares her personal and professional journey through health care, advocacy, and community service. A West Philadelphia native, radiation therapist, and advocate for equitable care, Dr. Bailey explains how her father’s prostate cancer and her family’s history with cancer shaped her mission to help others fight for better outcomes. She speaks candidly about being a patient herself, living with lupus, carrying the BCL6 cancer gene, and why so many people — especially Black patients — must learn how to advocate for themselves when doctors are not listening. The conversation covers the importance of knowing your family cancer history, recognizing changes in your body, asking for the right screenings, and finding providers who truly hear you. Dr. Bailey also highlights the free All Things Cancer and Wellness Expo through the Byrd Cancer Foundation, where community members can access screenings, education, and resources. The interview introduces her as a West Philadelphia native, radiation therapist, and advocate appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro, then moves into self-advocacy in health care, stressing that patients have power and can change providers if they are not being heard. It also highlights her April 18 cancer and wellness expo through the Byrd Cancer Foundation with free community screenings and education.
In this deeply impactful We Talk Weekly interview, Dr. Nia Imani Bailey shares her personal and professional journey through health care, advocacy, and community service. A West Philadelphia native, radiation therapist, and advocate for equitable care, Dr. Bailey explains how her father’s prostate cancer and her family’s history with cancer shaped her mission to help others fight for better outcomes. She speaks candidly about being a patient herself, living with lupus, carrying the BCL6 cancer gene, and why so many people — especially Black patients — must learn how to advocate for themselves when doctors are not listening. The conversation covers the importance of knowing your family cancer history, recognizing changes in your body, asking for the right screenings, and finding providers who truly hear you. Dr. Bailey also highlights the free All Things Cancer and Wellness Expo through the Byrd Cancer Foundation, where community members can access screenings, education, and resources. The interview introduces her as a West Philadelphia native, radiation therapist, and advocate appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro, then moves into self-advocacy in health care, stressing that patients have power and can change providers if they are not being heard. It also highlights her April 18 cancer and wellness expo through the Byrd Cancer Foundation with free community screenings and education.
