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Archive for the ‘Annual Conference’ Category

Register for the 2011 Annual Conference! Scholarships, Travel Grants Available

Posted By on May 16th, 2011 at 12:59 pm | 4 comments.

Survivors, advocates, health care providers, business and community leaders will be gathering in Harrisburg for the 2011 PA Breast Cancer Coalition Annual Conference on Tuesday, October 11 – and we want YOU to be there, too! Online early bird registration rates now available. If you are unable to register due to the cost, we have travel grant and scholarship applications available online as well to provide assistance to you so that you may attend.

Those who register now can save with our Early Bird Registration for one at $65 or our Bring a Friend Registration for two at $100! Conference registration is your ticket to all of the events of the day including speakers, workshops, exhibit hall vendors, the Pink Ribbon luncheon and more. Workshops offered will feature topics designed to appeal to a wide range of audiences, regardless of how their lives have been touched by breast cancer. Topics include Leadership, Advocacy, and Education; Advances in Treatment; Research and Clinical Trials; Breast Cancer Survivorship; The Mind/Body Connection; and Caring for the Caregiver.

A number of conference scholarships are provided each year through the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarship Fund. To memorialize Cary, an active member of the ABC’S support group of Carlisle and a dedicated PBCC Annual Conference volunteer, friends and family worked with the PBCC to create the fund to provide a means for those who wish to attend the conference but would be unable to do so because of their financial situation. Applications for travel grants, full scholarships, and partial scholarships are now available. Travel grant applications are due August 5. Scholarship applications are due September 30.

Don’t miss out on this exciting day! Join us on Tuesday, October 11 for the 2011 PA Breast Cancer Coalition Annual Conference!

Take a Virtual Trip to Martin’s Potato Chips

Posted By on May 16th, 2011 at 12:55 pm | 0 comments.

Martin’s Potato Chips invited the PBCC to its factory for a behind the scenes look at how their delicious snacks are made. Earlier this month, they brought their special pink ribbon bags back for a Mother’s Day promotion. Check out the video for a snack sneak peek and see how Martin’s continues to Chip in for a Cure.

Through the sale of the special pink ribbon bags of its Kettle Cook’d Potato Chips, Martin’s has donated over $84,000 to the PBCC. For its generosity and commitment to breast cancer awareness, the company was recognized as a 2010 Pink Ribbon Award recipient at the 2010 PA Breast Cancer Coalition Annual Conference. Thanks to everyone at Martin’s for their continued support and for the tour!

Knock It Out of the Park in July, We’ll See You in October!

Posted By on April 15th, 2011 at 9:03 am | 0 comments.

It’s not just the weather heating up! Excitement surrounding the Take a Swing Against Breast Cancer Home Run Derby is at a fever pitch with the first crack of the bat just under 3 months away. While the dates are set, the lineup isn’t –so won’t you join us this July as a batter, sponsor, volunteer or spectator?

With 11 dates set at locations across the state, there’s bound to be an opportunity to get involved near you. As a special bonus, if you are one of the first eleven teams to register before the end of April, you get two free registrations for our Annual Conference in October! What a great way to see firsthand the strength and courage of breast cancer survivors and the commitment of advocates. Use the registrations for members of your team or for the breast cancer survivor or advocate in your life that inspired you to step up to the plate and take a swing!

President’s Corner: 3-D Breast Scans Aid in Early Detection, Lessening False Positives

Posted By on April 15th, 2011 at 9:00 am | 0 comments.

Recently approved by the FDA, 3-D breast scan systems provide radiologists with a clearer, spatially accurate representation of breast tissue to accompany the image provided by a mammogram. The 3-D reconstruction will make it easier to detect and identify possible malignancies in the breast tissue that may not have been visible prior to the 3-D technology.

The 3-D scan will provide radiologists with the ability to better analyze tumors found in the breast and help reduce the likelihood of false positives. A recent Philadelphia Inquirer article on the topic provided insights by radiologists familiar with the 3-D breast scan technology, formally called “tomosynthesis”. They showed that the 3-D breast scan will allow them to see any tumors more clearly than mammography alone. However, it is important to note that at this stage, the 3-D scan would not be a replacement for the traditional 2-D mammogram; rather, it would be used in conjunction with a traditional mammogram to provide a clearer picture of the inside of the breast. It is also important to remember that the 3-D scan provides a higher dose of radiation than do currently used mammograms, and the long-term effects of it on the breast are unknown.  Any woman considering this procedure should review it with her physician.

Information on cutting-edge breast cancer news and research will be available at the PA Breast Cancer Coalition Annual Conference on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 in Harrisburg. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Register today to join us for this inspirational and educational gathering of breast cancer advocates and survivors.

Has Your Daughter Been Diagnosed with Breast Cancer?

Posted By on March 15th, 2011 at 8:57 am | 0 comments.

A breast cancer diagnosis is stressful not only for the patient but for everyone who cares about her. Mothers of daughters with breast cancer face the challenge of wanting to protect their child while having no control over what is happening. This is also a time when the daughter needs emotional support from her mother.

In 1995,  Mothers Supporting Daughters with Breast Cancer (MSDBC) emerged from one mother’s experience. Charmayne Dierker and her daughter Lillie Shockney founded MSDBC, which provides free services for mothers who have daughters battling breast cancer.

Click here to order a free booklet or to be matched with a mother volunteer whose daughter is close in age to your daughter and has had the same type of breast cancer and same treatment. Lillie Shockney, RN, BS, M.A.S. has presented her widely popular Humor and Healing workshop at five PBCC annual conferences. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 at the age of 38.

We Love Thank You Notes!

Posted By on November 17th, 2010 at 8:48 am | 0 comments.

The 2010 PBCC Annual Conference is history!  But thank you notes and emails are still coming into the PBCC office.   Many of these are from women and men all across the state who were given financial assistance to attend the conference in Harrisburg on October 13th.   The PBCC offers various levels of grants and scholarships to applicants who otherwise would not be able to attend this inspirational and educational event.
This year, through the generosity of donors to the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarship Fund, the PBCC was able to provide assistance to 35 women and men all across the state and beyond – a record number!

One scholarship recipient wrote:

To all who donate to the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarship Fund,
The very thought of cancer leaves one in a state of fear. You get so lost in deep concerns and issues faster than you can take a breath to consume the news. You begin to lay your options out to try to cope. People like yourself come into your life. Caring, unknown strangers opening their hearts and offering the help we so desperately need…knowledge, hope, facts, and most of all choices. Thanks to you, I will have this helpful information offered to me. I am extremely grateful for that. Without your help I would not have been able to attend.

Patty
Erie, PA

Another said:

Please extend my sincere thank you to the friends and family of Cary for the gift. The scholarship represents a very fitting way to honor a dear friend and volunteer to the PBCC. What a lovely way for Cary to be a woman who continues to help other women breast cancer patients/survivors.

Cora Lee
State College, PA

And a nursing professor at Towson University, 9 of whose students received scholarships, wrote:

Please accept my heartfelt thanks for providing scholarships for my Towson University nursing students. They were totally impressed with the event, collegiality, networking and opportunities to learn more about breast cancer. It was indeed a class act of a professional conference, as I also gained much needed valuable information and knowledge as an educator.

Janet
Hagerstown, MD

Please consider contributing to the scholarship fund to help women and men attend future PBCC conferences.  We cannot do this work without your support.  The PBCC and all the recipients thank you!

2010 Annual Conference Highlights

Posted By on November 5th, 2010 at 11:18 am | 10 comments.

2010 Annual ConferenceThanks to everyone who spent Wednesday, October 13th with us at the Harrisburg Hilton!  It was a day full of learning, support, and friends!  Be sure to check out all of the photos from the day on our Flickr page!

Many attendees have asked about downloading a copy of certain presentations because they were full of such great content.  Or because you didn’t get a chance to check out all of the workshops available.

Below, we have PDF copies of handouts from the workshops.  *Please note: These presentations are the work of and owned by the presenters from the 2010 Annual Conference.  Users may only have copies of the presentations for personal use.*  To view/download the slides, you will need Adobe Acrobat.

A Frequent Question: What do you do?

Posted By on September 8th, 2010 at 2:56 pm | 0 comments.

Every day I drive from my home in Elizabethtown to Ephrata.  I have friends who go to work and feel like they don’t have a purpose in his or her workplace.  That is NOT the feeling I have every morning on my commute.

I started interning with the PA Breast Cancer Coalition in January 2009.  I quickly learned about how things work in the office and around the state.  It is simply inspiring to see the drive of our full time staff, but also our advocates in communities across PA.  I knew I was going to like it here.  I am entering my fourth month of full time employment with the PBCC and my 21st month of knowing leading champions in the breast cancer cause.

Almost daily, our staff receives phone calls and e-mails asking how the PBCC can help those diagnosed with breast cancer or how people in the community can get involved with our organization.  There are many answers to both of those questions.  To help, I’ve included our mission video below.  Yes, it may be 12 minutes long, but believe me, it’s 12 minutes that will show you the effect this non-profit has across the state.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1ylLXbhsSk&fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f&border=1]

Now, what can you do?  How can you have an impact on the women and families in Pennsylvania fighting breast cancer?  Here are a few simple ways:

This is a short list of how you can contribute to what the PA Breast Cancer Coalition does on a daily basis.  If you have questions about anything that is listed here or have a new idea, please feel free to contact us at info@pabreastcancer.org or 1-800-377-8828!

PBCC Annual Conference Travel Grants

Posted By on May 12th, 2010 at 11:21 am | 0 comments.

Each October, the PBCC puts on a breast cancer conference in Harrisburg.  Approximately 700 people attend – survivors, co-survivors, medical professionals, legislators, business leaders and breast cancer advocates of all types.  If you’ve never attended, you’re really missing something special, in my opinion.  The staff of the PBCC works almost year-round on this event, planning the workshops, lining up the speakers, designing the print materials, signing up the exhibitors, deciding on the food, registering the attendees…the tasks go on and on.

One of my favorite conference jobs is working on the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarships and Travel Grants.  The PBCC offers a limited number of travel grants, as well as full and partial scholarships for the conference.  Full scholarships cover the entire registration fee.  Partial scholarships cover all but $25 of the registration fee.  And the highly-desired travel grants cover the full conference registration cost, one standard guest room at the Harrisburg Hilton the night before the conference, and  reimbursement for documented travel expenses (not to exceed $100 total).  Click here to see more details and to download a scholarship or travel grant application.  

We encourage anyone who needs assistance in paying for attendance to the conference to apply, although priority is given to breast cancer survivors.

If you’d like to contribute to this fund which helps women attend this educational and uplifting event, click here.  And thank you!

Call For Workshop Topics

Posted By on March 1st, 2010 at 3:19 pm | 2 comments.

I realize that October seems a long way off, but here in the PBCC office, we are already hard at work planning the 2010 Annual Conference!  This year’s conference will be held on Wednesday, October 13th at the Harrisburg Hilton. 

One of the first orders of business is to figure out what workshops we are going to offer.  We do have some ideas, but we are putting out a call for submissions.  If you have presented a workshop in the past or know someone who has presented one that you think would be appropriate for our event, please let us know.  We are looking for workshops that fit into the following tracks:

Leadership, Advocacy & Education
Advances in Treatment
Research and Clinical Trials
Breast Cancer Survivorship
The Mind/Body Connection
Caring for the Caregiver

Of course, you’re not limited to these tracks; they are simply suggestions.  The sky is the limit so be creative!   Workshops are one hour long.  The deadline for proposals is Friday, March 12th at 4pm.  Head to the PBCC Annual Conference website for more details about what your proposal should include and other important information!

One last important note.  Please make sure that the suggested presenter is available to present at our conference on October 13, 2010, before you submit your proposal.  The PBCC applies for continuing education credits for the workshops and cannot replace presenters once workshops are confirmed.

Thanks for your input and we look forward to reading your proposals!