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This round of golf is not about the score, it is a gathering of individuals committed to...Read more >
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is the state’s first and only National Cancer...Read more >Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, Komen has invested $1 billion to fulfill that promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.
Komen, the official national charity of the LPGA, is the world’s largest nonprofit source of funding for efforts dedicated to curing breast cancer at every stage – from the causes, to the cures, to the pain and anxiety of every moment in between.
The LIFE event provides support for the Susan G. Komen On the Go™ mobile experience tour that educates and engages people of all ages in the breast cancer movement where they live, work and play. From inner cities to community festivals; public universities to neighborhood centers, Komen on the Go’s signature bright pink vehicles are teaching Americans everywhere to take charge of their breast health and empowering participants to share information with friends and join the breast cancer movement. This year will be the sixth year for the cross-country tour where Komen On the Go will be on exhibit in communities across the United States, educating and elevating thousands of people with messages of hope.
For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer visit, www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is the state’s first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. As such, CINJ is uniquely positioned to bring state-of-the-art clinical services and programs and access to clinical research trials to New Jersey and surrounding areas.
Funds donated through the LIFE Event support CINJ’s LIFE Center.
Founded in 2002 to recognize the leadership role of Val Skinner and the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), the LIFE Center was established to provide increasing awareness of and supporting programs for young women with an increased risk for breast cancer.
Through a multidisciplinary team of breast cancer experts including medical oncologists, surgeons, geneticists, genetic counselors, psychologists, and nurse practitioners, The LIFE Center provides genetic counseling and risk assessment for women at risk. Experts housed there study factors that may cause early onset breast cancer and work to develop effective preventive strategies for young women at risk and their families.
LIFE funds have been used to expand the LIFE Center services to reach additional New Jersey area affiliate hospitals, including Morristown Memorial Hospital, Mountainside Hospital, Overlook Hospital, CentraState Medical Center, CINJ at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital at Hamilton, Bayshore Community Hospital and Somerset Medical Center.
The LIFE Center has also developed a familial cancer registry database of individuals seen through the programs. Researchers with permission to access a cancer registry can study factors implicated in cancer development including the genetic and environmental causes, ultimately leading to early detection, prevention and improved treatments.
CINJ is also actively involved in the LIFE Event’s Young Women’s Initiative through the development of a multi-pronged approach to increase breast cancer awareness among this demographic. In collaboration with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the facility utilizes a “Train the Trainer” model to implement a health care provider intervention in primary care and gynecological health care settings.
This intervention educates nurses, nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants in the use of a “Teachable Moment” strategy to educate young women about their personal health risk and how to adopt breast health behaviors that can reduce their rist.
In addition to using LIFE funds to support the clinical, educational and research activities of the LIFE Center, CINJ also established a post-doctoral LIFE Fellowship that focuses on the development of educational intervention in the high school settings. BioCONECTis an inquiry-based (problem based learning) biology curriculum. These programs promote breast health among teenagers, reduce factors that increase the risk of breast cancer, develop innovative risk-reduction for young women and study the biopsycholsocial processes that place women at risk.
In 2008 the BioCONECT pilot program was launched in 23 New Jersey area schools. The program was implemented in South Carolina schools in 2009 and will be launched in New York schools in 2010 as it continues to move toward a national program.
For more information about The Life Center at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, visit www.cinj.org
A beneficiary of the LIFE Event, The Young Survival Coalition (YSC) is the only international, non-profit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters dedicated to the concerns and issues that are unique to young women affected by breast cancer. The Young Survival Coalition has used LIFE grants specifically for peer support and educational programs for young women living with metastiatic breast cancer.
LIFE funds provide various program opportunities for the YSC focused on the metastatic breast cancer program: retreats which include medical sessions, social sessions and panel discussions for women who are have been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. In addition LIFE funded a educational video titled, “The Beautiful 8, Learning to Live with Advanced Breast Cancer.” This video features an intimate discussion among eight young women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Filled with hope, fear, laughter, anxiety and determination to live life to the fullest, these young women openly share their experiences in the hope of helping others in this underserved population and of educating families, friends and medical providers on understanding the various issues and responses that accompany a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer.
Through action, advocacy and awareness, the YSC seeks to educate the medical, research, breast cancer and legislative communities and to persuade them to address breast cancer in women 40 and under. The YSC also serves as a point of contact for young women living with breast cancer.