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Home News Breast Cancer Advocates Participate in National Avon Foundation Forum

Breast Cancer Advocates Participate in National Avon Foundation Forum

Published: Friday, March 21, 2008

Distinguished Scientists and Leaders of Community Organizations Join in Unique Conference on Breast Cancer Screening and Treatment Disparities


Peggy Iachetta of Halls and Paige Huggler of Louisville recently attended the 2008 Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Forum: Advancing Prevention and Access to Treatment as representatives of The University of Tennessee Medical Center’s Cancer Institute. The forum in Houston, Texas, focused on advancing prevention and access to treatment. Huggler and Iachetta were part of more than 275 specialists in breast cancer care programs representing 12 major cancer centers, 80 public hospitals and 140 community-based organizations, from all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Forum attendees represented a diverse group who, in 2008, will: undertake critical research; perform more than 1,000,000 educational encounters at health fairs and one-on-one counseling sessions; link more than 150,000 women into mammography screenings; and navigate those with abnormal screens into follow-up diagnostics and treatment.

Huggler and Iachetta are, respectively, coordinator and assistant coordinator for the Breast Health Outreach Program (BHOP) at UT Medical Center’s Cancer Institute. The BHOP is designed to deliver culturally and educationally sensitive breast health education classes prior to onsite mobile mammography screening. Thirty-minute classes inform women to obtain annual screening. Once relationships are established, the BHOP is offered annually in churches, industrial work sites and community centers.

The Avon Foundation has provided funding to BHOP for the past six years to support its work on this important health issue and in recognition of the excellence of the program. Since inception in 1996, more than 20,000 women have participated in the program.

“I am so proud to have been selected to attend this conference,” stated Huggler. “During those three days I was able to learn from the experts and my peers from other community breast cancer organizations so that we can do an even better job of serving our community.”

The 2008 Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Forum Agenda At this year’s forum, delegates shared best practices and disseminated the most recent information on breast cancer clinical trials that organizations can immediately apply and use to improve their patients’ lives. The attendees examined programs that provide access to breast cancer prevention, screening, and treatment to medically underserved and minority populations and were able to hear directly from eminent speakers on important topics such as 

• Dr. Wendie Berg, Study Chair, American College of Radiology Imaging Network ACRIN-6666 Trial who presented new results from ACRIN-6666 and discusses the use of ultrasound in addition to mammography for breast cancer screening.
• Dr. Steve Whitman, Director, Sinai Urban Health Institute (Chicago) who released new data from a commissioned study on Houston black/white disparities in breast cancer mortality.
• Dr. Polly Newcomb, Program Head, Cancer Prevention, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle) who presented results of a new study examining how pregnancy alters future risk of breast cancer.
• Dr. Susan Love, President and Medical Director, Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation (Pacific Palisades, CA) who discussed ongoing research developing new ways to detect breast cancer risk with the ultimate goal of preventing the disease altogether.

The Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Forum’s gold sponsors included GlaxoSmithKline Oncology and Novartis Oncology and Silver Sponsor Genomic Health for their generous support. Funding for the Forum and Avon Foundation grants also is provided by the annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series, including nine events taking place April through October 2008.

About the Avon Foundation The Avon Foundation, an accredited 501(c)(3) public charity, was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women and their families. Since 1992, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has raised and awarded more than $525 million worldwide for access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer, with a focus on the medically underserved. Funding supports five areas: awareness and education, screening and diagnosis, access to treatment, support services and scientific research. Beneficiaries range from leading cancer centers to community-based non-profit breast health programs. For more information, visit www.avonfoundation.org.

For more information about the BHOP at UT Medical Center, call 865.305.9753 or email phuggler@utmck.edu.