Moddelmog to Stress Organization’s Global Promise to End Breast Cancer Forever
WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 6, 2008 – Hala Moddelmog, president and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the leader of the global breast cancer movement, will participate Tuesday evening in a “Symposium on Breast Cancer Global Awareness,” to highlight the international breast cancer crisis – a disease that is expected to kill 10 million people globally in 25 years without intervention.
The event, marking National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is co-hosted by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Protocol, the Office of International Women’s Issues, the Middle East Partnership Initiative and Western Hemisphere Affairs. It will be followed by an event at the White House hosted by Mrs. Laura Bush.
“We’ve made tremendous strides here in the United States in bringing this disease out of the shadows and dramatically increasing rates of survival,” said Moddelmog. “Unfortunately, many nations are still where we were more than two decades ago. In many regions of the world, cancer rates are rising at alarming rates and significant economic and cultural barriers prevent even the most basic care.”
Panel to feature leading scientists and activists
Moddelmog will appear on an international panel featuring leading scientists and activists, including Dr. Funda Meric-Bernstam, Associate Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; Dr. Marc Hurlbert, Ph.D., Director, Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade; Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, Consultant and Assistant Professor at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah; Dr. Maira Caleffi, President, FEMAMA/IMAMA (Brazil); and Anita McBride, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady.
What: “Symposium on Breast Cancer Global Awareness”
Where: Blair House followed by event at the White House
When: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 4:30 p.m.
Moddelmog’s participation in this event comes at a time of significant global outreach for the organization. Last year, Komen for the Cure hosted its first “Global Breast Cancer Advocacy Summit” in Budapest, Hungary, for which Mrs. Bush was the Honorary Co-Chair. There, Komen announced pilot programs in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, which are bearing fruit today. Komen already is working with advocates in the Middle East and Latin America, is funding initiatives in Eastern Europe, and is sending a delegation – led by Moddelmog -- next week to Ghana and Tanzania in Africa.
Additionally, Komen has forged partnerships with internationally respected agencies such as the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, and the Women’s Health Empowerment Program (WHEP) of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).
