I was back at the White House Monday with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for another Cancer Moonshot event, this time to announce the new American Cancer Society (ACS) National Breast Cancer Roundtable (NBCRT), which I have been asked and honored to join.

(First Lady announcing the launch of the NBCRT.)

In announcing the new NBCRT, along with a new ACS National Cervical Cancer Roundtable, Dr. Biden said the roundtables will accelerate research and improve access to screenings. “We’re going to find the best way to help people get vaccines, screenings like mammograms and pap smears, and all of the care that they need, no matter their race, zip code, or background.” Screenings are a key Cancer Moonshot aim. The ACS projects 287,850 invasive breast cancer cases in 2022 and more than 43,000 deaths. This is a critical issue for Latinas and other women of color who suffer disproportionate numbers of breast and cervical cancer related deaths. Efforts by providers and community-based organizations (CBO’s) to get these women screened lost momentum during the dark days of the COVID pandemic, which took center stage for two years, and forced millions of screening cancellations.

(White House Moonshot Coordinator Danielle Carnival will provide updates on Moonshot activities at our Forum this Friday.)

At Monday’s event, White House Cancer Moonshot Coordinator Danielle Carnival told me efforts to address early cancer detection and screening are being launched at many different levels, and she looks forward to joining us this Friday, October 28th, at our 4th Annual National Latino Cancer Institute Forum, to share updates on Moonshot activities and progress.

Meanwhile, the newly launched NBCRT is already at work on it’s 2023 agenda. At its core, the roundtable aims to accelerate progress across the breast cancer continuum through strategic partnerships to eliminate disparities and reduce mortality while working to ensure all women have access to quality screening and treatment.

(Recognizing and addressing disparities is a top priority for the new National Breast Cancer Roundtable.)

I’ll be advocating for: 1) Major investment of funding to CBO’s to hire, train and deploy CHW’s (promotores) to take on the screening battle in their communities, and 2) Strategies to tackle the regulatory and systems challenges that often inhibit pre-breast cancer genetic testing and counseling, especially for racial and ethnic women at higher risk due to family cancer history. Successful approaches will save lives.

We’ll see you at the Forum this Friday!!

Ysabel

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