American Cancer Society Brazilian Fellows Seek to Improve Breast Cancer Control in Brazil

The Brazilian fellows visit the American Cancer Society National Home Office in Atlanta.  From left to right:  Gustavo Azenha, manager, Brazilian Initiatives, American Cancer Society; Dr. Maira Caleffi, founding president of FEMAMA; Regina Vargas, advocacy coordinator for FEMAMA.

Two representatives of the Brazilian breast cancer coalition Federação Brasileira de Instituções Filantropicas de Apoio a Saude da Mama (FEMAMA) recently participated in a weeklong American Cancer Society fellowship, awarded to them after receiving an American Cancer Society Latin America Best Practice Award for networking. The fellows, Maira Caleffi, MD, PhD, founding president of FEMAMA, and Regina Vargas, advocacy coordinator for FEMAMA, visited American Cancer Society offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C., to share their knowledge and experience about breast cancer control in Brazil and learn more about governance and advocacy issues from American Cancer Society staff. At the American Cancer Society’s National Home Office (NHO) in Atlanta, the fellows met with John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, as well as other Society leaders. They also gave a presentation to the NHO staff on the breast cancer burden in Brazil and FEMAMA’s advocacy work. In Washington, Bob Chapman, director of operations for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM (ACS CAN) and other ACS CAN staff provided Caleffi and Vargas with a detailed look at American Cancer Society advocacy initiatives, including media engagement, policy development, campaign planning, grassroots mobilization, and new media advocacy. (ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the Society). The fellows returned to Brazil with a wealth of exciting new ideas and strategies to strengthen FEMAMA coalition governance, enrich grassroots outreach, enhance advocacy actions, and catalyze positive changes in breast cancer control in Brazil.

Comments

[Joseph]

A culpa e9 das Sacretarias da Safade e do Ministe9rio da Safade, pois tenho uma clinica me9dica que rezaila mamografia e estamos enfrentando dois problemas:1 falta de movimento, ou seja, poucas mulheres rezailando mamografias2 corte do repasse financeiro dos exames rezailados, pagamentos sempre incompletos, atrasados muitas vezes ne3o rezailados.Acredito que desta maneira como o governo gerecia seus recursos e9 impossivel os hospitais ou postos de atendimento rezailarem seu trabalho. No meu caso enfrento grandes dificuldades em manter aberta a clinica devido falhas graves do governo.Atenciosamente.

[Karina]

Simone,Eu tive ce2ncer de mama com 35 anos, descobri com auto-exame e fae7o prteslaas para o combate ao ce2ncer e sobre a importe2ncia da mamografia e demais exames. Eu, meu me9dico e ve1rias entidades ligadas e0 causa do ce2ncer de mama que eu conhee7o, defendemos a realizae7e3o da mamografia a partir dos 30 anos de idade, e antes ate9, quando vc tem parentes com o diagnf3stico. Tenho ate9 um texto no Luluzinha, contando a minha histf3ria.Eu sf3 queria ressaltar que, se vc escreve que e9 sf3 a partir dos 40, as pessoas team a tendeancia de deixar pre1 mais tarde ainda. Tenho ve1rias amigas, alie1s a maioria delas, que detectaram a doene7a antes dos 40, conheci uma moe7a que teve ce2ncer de mama com apenas 24 anos O ultrassom, a ressone2ncia e a mamografia se completam, o que se vea em um pode ne3o aparecer no outro ou pode aparecer nos 3. Acho que para prevenir tudo e9 ve1lido, ate9 mesmo fazer um exame extremamente importante sem se preocupar com a idade, mas sim, com a tranquilidade.Um abrae7o!

[mike]

I found this site yesterday. Very inspirational indeed if you haven't seen it yet.

http://www.survivorcelebration.com