Speakers at the breast cancer control forum in Brazil
In collaboration with the Brazilian breast cancer coalition (FEMAMA in Portuguese), the American Cancer Society organized and hosted the Rio Grande do Sul State Intersectorial Breast Cancer Control Forum (I Fórum Intersetorial de Controle de Câncer de Mama do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul) from May 19-20 in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. This forum was the second of a series of American Cancer Society breast cancer forums that will be held in Brazil, aimed at improving breast cancer control and promoting the participation of civil society in cancer planning. Rio Grande do Sul State was chosen as a priority location because of its high incidence rates relative to other states in Brazil as well as the leadership roles of government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in addressing the growing breast cancer burden. During the forum, breast cancer experts and key stakeholders discussed recent advances in heath policies and practices, identified persistent barriers to care, and developed recommendations to improve access to and quality of early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care. The forum convened more than 50 participants, including representatives of the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA in Portuguese), state and municipal secretaries of health, leading public hospitals, philanthropic hospitals, research universities, and NGOs. Dr. Robert A. Smith, Director of Screening for ACS, was the keynote speaker at the event. Other speakers included Dra. Maira Caleffi (FEMAMA), Nair Ferreira (Instituto da Mama do RS, IMAMA), Dr. José Luiz Telles (Ministry of Health), Dr. Ana Ramalho (INCA), Dr. Sandra Coccaro de Souza (State Secretary of Health), Dr. Luciane Rampanelli Franco (Municipal Secretary of Health, Porto Alegre), Dr. Airton Stein (Grupo Hospitalar Conceição), Rosa Rutta (Instituto da Mama do RS, IMAMA), Dr. José Luiz Pedrini (Brazilian Mastology Society), Dr. Marcus Vinicius Bortolotto (IPUC), Dr. Felipe Zerwes (Brazilian Mastology Society), Dr. Stephen Stefani (UNIMED), and Dr. João Marcos Rizzo (Hospital Moinhos de Vento). The event was spotlighted in leading regional newspapers.