Rural versus urban communities experience disproportionate challenges in breast cancer outcomes, with higher breast cancer mortality and later stage disease presentation, despite similar diagnosis rates. These disparities are driven by structural barriers, including rural hospital closures, transportation difficulties, and limited access to oncology specialists. This study evaluated a train-the-trainer program designed to equip PharmD students located at a pharmacy school in a rural county in South Carolina with breast cancer education training, leveraging the pharmacists’ position as accessible healthcare professionals in rural communities. Training focused on breast cancer risk factors, prevention, screening, genetics, staging, and treatment options. Effectiveness was measured through pre- and post-workshop confidence surveys and knowledge assessments. Results showed significant improvement in student confidence across educational domains, with average scores increasing from 6.30 to 8.59 (p<0.0001). Understanding of screening guidelines (mean difference: 4.30; p-value: <.0001) and target therapy options showed the greatest improvement (mean difference: 3.65; p-value: <.0001), while knowledge of BRCA gene inheritance showed the smallest change (mean difference: 0.369; p-value: ns), suggesting some pre-existing awareness but limited understanding of its clinical applications. Overall, this pilot program demonstrates how pharmacy education can address healthcare disparities in rural communities. By preparing pharmacists to deliver accurate breast cancer education and to increase rural patient agency, this model creates a sustainable approach to improving health literacy in medically underserved areas. Future research could further expand this model to include diverse healthcare professionals and incorporate long-term impact assessments in community settings.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

AYS is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institutes of Health (SC INBRE P20GM103499).

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All human subjects-based work in this manuscript was performed in accordance with guidelines and regulations approved by the Institutional Review Board of Presbyterian College.

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All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors.