Advocates in Action

Congresswoman Dingell Supports Breast Cancer Research

On September 14, 2015, Maria Lyzen, President of MiBCC, met with Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who is a great supporter and defender of research funding for breast cancer, and has been for many years. Representative Dingell has volunteered to work with her colleagues so that lawmakers will support future research funding to help eradicate this disease. She signed on as a co-sponsor of the “Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act” during Lobby Day in Washington DC this past May 2015.

Lobby Day with MiBCC Advocates

On May 5, 2015, Michigan Breast Cancer Coalition Board Members Maria Lyzen, Rose Marie Sitko and Jeanne Deneweth, and former MiBCC Board Member Valerie Fraser participated in Lobby Day as part of the 2015 National Breast Cancer Coalition Annual Advocate Summit in Washington, DC. Maria, Rose Marie, and Jeanne visited all 16 offices of the Michigan Congressional Delegation: two senators, 14 representatives. The purpose of these visits was to obtain more co-sponsors for the non-partisan Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act (S.746 in the Senate, H.R.1197 in the House of Representatives). The Act would create a commission of diverse scientists to investigate new ways to end breast cancer.

National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC)

The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) is a coalition of member organizations that focus on breast cancer. Michigan Breast Cancer Coalition is one of these members, and serves on the Board of Directors of NBCC.

Each year advocates from Michigan go to Washington D.C. to NBCC’s Annual Advocate Leadership Summit, a 3-day educational event to learn about what’s new in breast cancer research and to learn how to be an effective advocate. On the 4th day, they go to Capitol Hill to visit our Representatives and Senators and to persuade them to support Breast Cancer Deadline 2020, the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act, and continued funding of the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. It is an inspiring and thrilling experience! Click here to learn more and make plans to join us in Washington, D.C., April 30-May 3,2016.

Watch this inspiring video about NBCC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLgNHkT8USg

Learn more about NBCC

An article about NBCC: The Partnership Between Breast Cancer Advocates and Scientists. Platner et al., Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 39: 102–107 (2002).

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, working to make cancer issues a national priority. Many of the most important decisions about cancer are made by our state legislature, in Congress, and in the White House. ACS CAN empowers Michigan residents to be part of the growing national movement that is fighting back against cancer. We demand that our leaders not only talk about fighting cancer but take real steps toward decreasing the number of people suffering and dying from cancer.

How does the State of Michigan measure up in the fight against cancer? The ACS CAN annual report of 2015 reports the progress of every state on key cancer issues. By implementing the solutions set forth in this report, state legislators have a unique opportunity to take a stand and fight back against cancer. In many cases, it costs the state little or nothing to do the right thing. In most cases, these solutions will save the state millions and perhaps billions of dollars through health care cost reductions and increased worker productivity. So, how does Michigan measure up?

“Just because you can’t do everything, doesn’t mean you can’t do anything.”

~Olga Murray