To achieve national health goals set for reduction of cancer by the year 2000, populations with higher cancer mortality and lower survival must be reached with proven advances for use in cancer prevention and early detection. This article focuses on one segment of those populations that continues to have a poor cancer experience: urban, low-income black women. Barriers for them to cancer prevention and early detection are identified and discussed from studies conducted in Chicago. Specifically tailored interventions that have been used to bring services to this population are described, and implications from the outcomes of this work are discussed.