Recently, YSC received the exciting news that we have been awarded a $1.75 million grant to be used during the next five years. This generous funding will enhance the support services for young women diagnosed with breast cancer. YSC was one of only seven organizations to receive a grant in a deeply competitive process, and we are honored and thrilled to have the support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC).
During our first year, we have prioritized our goals as follows:
o Evaluate and enhance our existing resources to determine how we can make them even more effective and engaging.
o Build a more robust healthcare provider program to increase their knowledge, understanding and investment in how to communicate with young breast cancer survivors.
o Increase multimedia educational opportunities through various platforms so that a larger, more national audience can tap into the wealth of invaluable information.
o Expand the availability of supportive services for young women diagnosed and their co-survivors through increasing the number of YSC F2Fs across the country.
Why are these important?
We strive to stay current with young women affected by breast cancer. Your feedback tells us that our existing resources are impactful; yet we’re always working to improve and re-assess how we can best support young survivors. We rely on your opinion and the input from medical experts to keep us tuned in to the topics and issues that matter most.
Healthcare providers are brilliant and busy individuals. Even with the progress we have made to debunk the myth that women can be “too young” to get breast cancer, we are still working to get that message heard. We want your healthcare providers to know about how breast cancer impacts the whole person, and we want them to have our educational materials on hand especially our Intro Kits at initial diagnosis.
New programs, including our 2015 Summit, will help us deliver information and build community in more innovative ways, and we are excited to share it with you. During the Summit, our general sessions will feature engaging and dynamic speakers who will deliver short, yet powerful, presentations about relevant topics for young survivors. Naturally, not everyone can attend due to scheduling conflicts, being medically unable to travel or lacking the financial resources, even with travel grant assistance. For these women, we are working on creative ways to make this information more immediately available. Use of multimedia platforms will host medical information, coping strategies, meaningful support and guidance offered at the Summit.
This incredible and generous CDC grant will help YSC do what it does best: offer resources, connections and outreach so that young women affected by breast cancer feel supported, empowered and hopeful.
We thank the CDC for supporting our efforts, and we thank all of you for your ongoing feedback and active involvement in YSC.
