Sunday, Breast Cancer, Washington

Just back from joining Shannon Brownlee, and Dr. Carolyn Clancy at this year's Annual Advocacy Conference of the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, “Beyond Ribbons to Revolutions" in Washington, DC. Ours was a plenary session entitled, Quality Health Care: Delivering on the Promise. Alice Yaker did a superb job as our moderator. Perhaps our session is written up on the conference blog, in which case you can read more about it there. (Photo, left to right, is of Alice, Carolyn, and Shannon.)

Thanks to Judi Hirshfield-Bartek and Susan Troyan (other photo), from BIDMC, for persuading me to cut short my regular Sunday morning soccer game to accept this invitation. They may be two of a very small group of people who could do that -- proving again the power of this advocacy group!

Speaking of breast cancer and advocacy, I want to invite people to attend the annual dinner of the Silent Spring Institute on May 15, at Boston's InterContinental Hotel. SSI is a non-profit scientific research organization dedicated to identifying the links between the environment and women's health, especially breast cancer. The dinner will benefit the Susan S. Bailis Breast Cancer Research Fund. We will be honoring Roberta Chafetz and Fredi Shonkoff with SSI's Rachel Carson Advocacy Awards.