Quick Links

Get a Pink Ribbon License Plate!

Calendar

Volunteer

VBCF on YouTube!

Thank you

to our Donors!

View 2014 Donors.

View 2013 Donors.

Our 2013 Annual Report

is Available Now!

Learn more about our Pink Ribbon License Plate

EDUCATE:

VBCF is a Supporting Partner of the 2014 Women's Health Virginia conference - Can the Chains be Broken? Facing the Challenges of Genetics & Other Familial Health Risks on Friday, June 6 in Charlottesville. This year's conference focuses on recent advancements in research and understanding the impact of genetics and environment on health. Continuing Education Credits are being offered. Register Now!

VBCF volunteers are gearing up to host Becky's Place at RAM on July 18-20 and we need your help! Please consider making a monetary donation or providing wishlist items to help with our efforts. The deadline to donate items is June 14 and July 17 for monetary donations.

We are currently accepting applications for our Library Program. The VBCF Library Program is an extension of our mission to educate Virginians about breast cancer. Through the program, libraries have been able to purchase books, periodicals, DVDs, etc. to support women and their families in the community. The deadline to apply is June 30.

VBCF approved seven grants totaling $6,727 expected to serve more than 5,900 Virginians with breast health education. The grantees include Chickahominy Health District, Crossover Healthcare Ministry, Ellen Shaw deParedes Breast Cancer Foundation, Greater Prince William Community Health Center, Nueva Vida, Pathways Specialty Clinic, and Richmond Guardian Angels. Congratulations!

The 2013 Nancy G. Dopp Volunteer of the Year Award has been presented to Maggie Powers. This statewide award recognizes a volunteer whose contributions of time, energy or talents had a significant impact for VBCF. Maggie is a founding member, past treasurer and continued dedicated volunteer of VBCF's Blue Ridge Chapter and a co-leader of VBCF's Becky's Place at RAM. She is also a rare, longtime survivor of inflammatory breast cancer. Maggie - you're the best!

ADVOCATE:

The 2014-16 Karin Decker Noss Scholarship has been awarded to Yvonne Eisenberg. Karin Decker Noss was a dedicated VBCF board member and past president. When diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer in July 1995, Karin dedicated her remaining life to breast cancer advocacy. The Scholarship funds advanced training for the recipient in breast cancer research and legislative advocacy to carry on the work that Karin began. Congratulations, Yvonne!

Medicaid Expansion in VA - A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that there were fewer premature deaths in Massachusetts after its 2006 health care overhaul expanded coverage to more people. Moreover, the study found a 4.5 decrease in "potentially preventable deaths." For more information, see The Commonwealth Institute's latest blog post, What the Doctor Ordered, and this article in the New York Times.

VBCF's National Lobby Day - A huge thank you to those who took time away to join us on the hill in Washington, DC to meet with Virginia's 13 elected legislators and their aides. We are especially appreciative to Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Representative Frank Wolf for taking the time to meet with our advocates personally. VBCF supports the National Breast Cancer Coalition's 2014 Legislative and Public Policy Priorities.

Community Event

Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee will present two lectures on Wednesday, May 21 in Richmond.

Beyond the cancer genome: New advances in cancer treatment at 2 p.m. in the Egyptian Building Auditorium, on the MCV Campus of VCU
Illness as biography: Writing a history of cancer at 7 p.m. at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Avenue, Richmond VA, 23284

Mukherjee is an oncologist at Columbia University and author of "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer," which won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in general non-fiction. The lectures are sponsored by the VCU Life Sciences and Religion Initiative and made possible through a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Both events are free and open to the public.

Recent News & Research Highlights

Tough-to-Treat Breast Cancer Nearly Twice as Common in Black Women: Study

Black women are nearly twice as likely as white women to be diagnosed with a hard-to-treat breast cancer known as triple-negative breast cancer, a new study says.

That dramatic difference was found no matter what their socioeconomic level was, the researchers added.

"The excess odds of triple-negative breast cancer in blacks compared to whites were remarkably similar, about 80 percent higher, in each socioeconomic group," study author Dr. Helmneh Sineshaw said in a news release from American Cancer Society.

[ continue...]

Fertility Drugs Do Not Increase Breast Cancer Risk

Women who have undergone hormonal treatments for infertility do not have an increased risk for developing breast cancer. This finding comes from a meta-analysis of 19 studies presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (abstract S5-08).

[ continue...]

Breast cancer risk among childhood cancer survivors treated with radiation higher than previously thought

Females who underwent chest irradiation during treatment for childhood cancer are at the same risk for breast cancer later in life than women with BRCA mutations, according to study results.

[continue...]

Blood samples may reveal breast cancer cells

Using a blood test to give you the odds yourbreast cancer will return. A new German study brings that possibility a step closer.

Researchers have found it may be possible to look for "markers" of cancer cells in routine blood samples and use them to better gauge whether early breast cancer will progress.

[ continue...]

Obesity Raises Breast Cancer Death Risk in Pre-Menopausal Women

Women younger than 50 who are obese and have a common form of breast cancer have a higher risk of dying from the disease than women with the cancer who are normal weight, researchers said.

[continue...]