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February 2008 IlliNOISY e-News
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Register for the Advocacy conference in
Washington, DC!
You’ve heard about it, you’ve read about and I hope you have considered going. So
why not sign up today and see what it’s all about!
Join us for 4 days in our nation’s capitol, getting to know advocates from around the
county and learning how to become a stronger advocate in your own neighborhood. Not only will you be educated on the latest research, policy and
grassroots efforts in the breast cancer community, but you will march on the steps of Capitol Hill and see advocacy in action!
Use your VOICE to fight breast cancer.
Register for the 2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
today.
Want to attend but worried about the cost? The
National Breast Cancer Coalition offers scholarships to cover your registration fee and lodging costs. Click here to apply for the
NBCC scholarship!
REMINDER: The deadline for the NBCC scholarship is March 4th,
2008.
Y-ME Illinois is very excited to offer scholarships to defer your travel expenses! Click
here to fill out the application and start your journey in becoming a breast cancer advocate.
REMINDER: The deadline for the Y-ME Illinois
scholarship is March 20th, 2008. Please contact Rachel Runnals at rrunnals@y-me.org or (312) 364-9071x14 with any questions!
***If you have already registered, please let Rachel Runnals at Y-ME Illinois know! E-mail
Rachel at rrunnals@y-me.org.
Meet Y-ME Illinois' Advocacy Intern: Jessica
Ferrell
My name is Jessica Ferrell, I am currently a senior at Lake Forest College, majoring in sociology and
philosophy. Most of my study and extracurricular time in college has been spent understanding student advocacy and the policies that govern and guide
college community living, academic regulations, and social events.
Advocating for college students rights compared to the world-wide concerns of breast cancer and survivors
is very different! Working with Y-ME, helping to form advocacy cells around the state of Illinois is giving me a very different perspective on what
it truly means to be an advocate for such a determined population. To say that I’m excited to go to D.C. in the spring for the NBCCF Advocacy
Training Conference is an understatement! The opportunity to be engaged with resolute women for a cause that demands constant legislative attention,
and gain the training to make legislation work for the cause will be incredible!
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Partnership for
Prescription Assistance
You may qualify for one of more than 475 programs, many of which offer free or nearly-free prescription drugs.
Tuesday, February
19
13707 W.
Jackson
Woodstock, IL
10 am – 12
pm
326 W 64th St. Suite
205
Chicago, IL
3 pm – 5
pm |
Ways for YOU to get
involved!
Cook County Alert: Take a moment to call your Cook County Commissioner, TODAY, to tell him/her to vote in favor of restoring
the cuts and establishing an independent Interim Board of Trustees to oversee the Bureau of Health Services.
As a result of funding cutbacks in 2007 and poor managerial decisions, there has been a
severe curtailment in access to services, a massive exodus of dedicated and highly-qualified health care professionals, and a drastic erosion of
community confidence and employee morale.
In response to this crisis Y-ME Illinois has recently joined the Emergency Network to
Save Cook County Health Services, a coalition of more than 70 concerned organizations and elected officials. The Emergency Network is presently
calling on President Todd Stroger and the Cook County Board to establish an independent Interim Board of Trustees to immediately take over the Cook
County Bureau of Health Services.
Contact you’re Cook County Commissioner and ask them to support an
Interim Board of Trustees to oversee the Bureau of Health Services and to urge the Task Force to take ACTION now!
http://www.co.cook.il.us/commissioners.htm To find your Cook County Commissioner.
Thank you, IlliNOISY, for taking action!
Opportunity
for Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Survivors
Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients needed for a telephone interview
Medical Data Concepts, an independent consulting firm specializing in health care needs your help.
They are a well-established marketing research consulting firm working exclusively in the health care industry and conducting a study for a major
manufacturer of products for the treatment of breast cancer.
Medical Data Concepts is working with a major pharmaceutical manufacturer interested in
understanding the needs of breast cancer patients in order to provide valuable service and support. The company is interested in understanding the
role of patients in deciding their therapy.
They are recruiting patients to participate in a telephone interview. You will not be asked to take
any medication. This is strictly a telephone interview to gather opinions of patients. Your opinions and responses will be treated
confidentially and will be reported only in aggregate with all participants. Your name and individual answers will not be identified. Eligibility:
newly diagnosed (October 2007 – present) breast cancer patients with early stage (stage I-II ) INVASIVE breast cancer
In appreciation for your time and assistance you will receive $75.
The interviews will be conducted from Feb 20th – Feb 28th.
Please call prior to these dates to set up an appointment.
If you would like to be involved in this project, please call 1-800-868-4206 and ask
for Project BP 20. Note: This is not Y-ME Illinois directed program. Please call the 1-800 numbers if you are interested in participating or
would like more information.
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Illinois News:
$1.5 million awarded in Ticket for the Cure grants for breast cancer
research
Governor Rod R. Blagojevich awarded Ticket for the Cure grants
totaling $1.5 million to researchers at five Illinois universities. Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Damon T. Arnold made the
announcement at the University of Chicago, which is receiving a total of $425,000 to fund four researchers to find new methods to detect, prevent,
screen and treat breast cancer.
Launched in January 2006, Ticket for the Cure is the nation’s first lottery ticket
dedicated to helping fund breast cancer research, early detection, education and patient services throughout the state. One hundred percent of the
net proceeds from Ticket for the Cure support programs and research initiatives
Last year, 52 Illinois organizations were awarded a total of $2.8
million in Ticket for the Cure community program grants to further breast cancer education efforts and to help provide supportive services
for breast cancer victims and their families.
In Chicago:
Breast Cancer Diagnosis Comes Late For Women In
Gentrifying Neighborhoods-ScienceDaily (Feb. 4,
2008)
Women who live in Chicago's gentrifying neighborhoods are more apt to receive a late
diagnosis of breast cancer than women who live in poverty-stricken neighborhoods, University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have found.
The surprising finding is in a study published in the January issue of the Annals of
Epidemiology.
Previous research indicated that places with more people of higher socioeconomic status
tend to have lower rates of distant metastasis when diagnosed with breast cancer, Barrett said.
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In The News:
Policy
Bush Administration To Propose Legislation That Would Overhaul U.S. Health Care System in Response to
Medicare 'Trigger'-Feb 14,
2008
The Bush administration is planning to propose legislation that would address excess
spending in Medicare and go beyond the "trigger" provision in the 2003 Medicare law to health care in general, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said at a
House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 2/13). President Bush for the
first time is required by law to send a Medicare savings plan to Congress after he releases his fiscal year 2009 budget proposal because Medicare
trustees last year triggered a "Medicare funding warning." The warning is issued when trustees for two consecutive years predict that federal general
fund revenue must be used to pay for 45% or more of total Medicare costs within seven years (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report,
1/22).
Access
New Studies Examining Role of Cultural Competency in Health Care Disparities-Feb 14, 2008
A "growing amount of research" is examining whether small cultural differences play a significant
role in health care disparities across the U.S., USA Today reports. Although, new government-sponsored studies are being conducted to
determine if cultural training can help health care personnel and physicians relate better to minority patients, "no study has proven cultural
competency training works, either by improving doctor-patient relationships, increasing patient compliance or reducing disparities," according to
USA Today.
Blue Cross of California Will Stop Asking Physicians for Information About New Applicants' Pre-existing
Conditions-Feb 13, 2008
Blue Cross of California on Tuesday said it would stop sending letters to physicians asking them to report pre-existing medical
conditions that could be used to rescind patients' health care coverage, the Sacramento Bee reports (Griffith, Sacramento Bee,
2/13). The insurer has been sending physicians copies of new patients' health insurance applications along with a letter advising them to immediately
report any "condition not listed on the application that is discovered to be pre-existing." In the letter, Blue Cross says the company has the right
to rescind members' coverage if patients fail to fully disclose their medical history, including "pre-existing pregnancies."
Research
BRCA type sways benefit
of anti-cancer surgery
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations can lower their
risk of developing breast and gynecologic cancers by having their ovaries removed. However, the benefit depends on which mutation they have,
researchers have found.
Ovary removal significantly reduces the odds of gynecologic cancer in BRCA1 carriers and
the risk of breast cancer in BRCA2 carriers, Dr. Noah D. Kauff, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and his associates report.
Protein Associated With Poor Breast Cancer Prognosis-ScienceDaily (Feb. 2, 2008)
High levels of the Ki-67 protein are associated with poor prognosis in early breast
cancer patients, but it may not able to predict which patients will benefit from additional chemotherapy.
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Y-ME Ilinois
300 W. Adams, Suite 430
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 364-9071, ext. 19
Fax: (312) 364-9066
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