National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC)

National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) update:

Essenia (Jean) responded to my earlier post regarding the NBCC membership and educational opportunities. Jean had some additional questions regarding the Project LEAD and asked me to share some of this information with all of our group. You may have noticed that the Denim Day is sponsored by the NBCC. One of the participants from my Project LEAD Institute was one of the survivors featured on the You-Tube advertisement for Denim Day. She was 27 and pregnant when diagnosed. Now she is the director for the Kansas Young Survivors Coalition.

You can access the National Breast Cancer Coalition site at www.stopbreastcancer.org. Following you will find a quote from the website that summarizes the purpose of Project LEAD Institute and Workshop:
"The National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund offers several different Project LEAD training courses. Each course focuses on preparing advocates to engage and effectively influence breast cancer decision-making within different types of local and national forums. The courses range from shorter introductory courses open to all to longer intensive courses in which students are chosen through a competitive application process."

If you are interested in joining NBCC and applying for Project LEAD, go to the website. You will find the menu bar across the top, pull down Education/Training, then Project LEAD. You will find choices of 2-Day Project LEAD Workshop and next year they will again offer the full 5 day Project LEAD. The registration is now open for the 2-Day Project LEAD, and it takes a while to fill this out. You can download the application and the scholarship application.

Understandably, I hear a lot of frustration in the tone of so many of our discussions here on "Inspire". I think that involvement with the NBCC is very empowering. The NBCC welcomes and hears the voices of the metastatic breast cancer folk. It is a productive place to become involved in. I think you all will find something interesting on the website. These women rock and make themselves heard in Washington, D.C. and scientific circles. The NBCC is a force to be reckoned with. For those who are not physically able to attend NBCC events, the website has lots of updates and research postings. Knowledge is power.

Additionally, in the past there have been discussions regarding how to attend the various breast cancer symposiums. Many of the symposiums require attendance at Project LEAD to be considered for Patient Advocacy credentials. One more reason to check out NBCC. Good luck!