Komen NYC Educates Women About Breast Cancer Screening

Linda Tantawi, CEO of Susan G. Komen Greater New York City, discussed the organization’s events that serve as the “pink ribbon connecting the community” and some of their upcoming initiatives to help educate women about breast cancer screening and treatment.

Komen’s Third Annual Patient Navigation Initiative will be held June 25, which will have both lay and nurse navigators to discuss what is and isn’t working in patient navigation in the breast cancer space. The discussion will also include who is funding patient navigation, as it is currently not reimbursable through insurance.

In addition, the Sisters for the Cure event will be held on June 29. “It is our effort to really address the disparities in the African American community,” said Tantawi. “We know that African American women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, and that is unacceptable.” This initiative will look into what can be done to ensure that African American women have the same quality and access to care as their white counterparts.

Lastly, the NY Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference will be held Oct. 5 through 6. At this event, “we bring the best researchers from all across the country right to New York (for) patients who wouldn’t have access to those researchers,” said Tantawi. “They don’t go to San Antonio, they can’t come here to ASCO, so let’s bring that information right to them.”

To learn more, visit komennyc.org.