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From the Director's Desk - Building on 2017 in 2018!

Dear Reader,

If you have already made a year-end donation thank you again! If you have not yet done so it isn't too late and your support will make a difference. You can make your online donation today for a tax credit in 2017! If you prefer to mail a check you need to ensure its dated 2017 even if we don't receive it until next week.

What did you learn in 2017? That the more you know about breast cancer the more there is to learn? Yep. That would be about right.

Here at Zero Breast Cancer we know that the more there is to learn the more there is to share. The more there is to share the more need there is to translate the research. The more research to translate the more the need to connect with you and your community through outreach and education. The more the need to connect and educate the more opportunity to make an impact by sharing practical ways you can modify your environment and lifestyle to boost your health and wellness and modify your breast cancer risk.

For this final newsletter of 2017 I have asked our Program Director, Catherine Thomsen, to share her thoughts and reflections with you. Please see the segment below and if you have the time I hope you will explore the links she provides to some of the latest research on breast cancer risk.

We look forward to 'meeting' you here again in 2018 when we publish our January newsletter and resume our book review series. We also look forward to seeing you in person at community events, conferences, partner events and the Dipsea Hike for Zero Breast Cancer 2018. There is still much to be done!

So all that remains of my duties in 2017 is to thank you for your steadfast support of the vision of a world with zero breast cancer.

Yours in hope and health,

Rose Barlow

Executive Director

PS Please don't forget that time is running out to show your support in 2017!

From the Desk of Catherine Thomsen, Program Director.

As 2017 comes to a close, I want to reflect on some of the things that I’ve learned this year. Perhaps the most obvious thing is that despite years of effort, it is still not possible to determine whether you personally are at higher or lower risk of breast cancer (genetic testing is useful but limited, accounting for 10% of risk at most), so at ZBC we encourage you to focus on healthy changes that reduce risk for all.

From 2002-2105, ZBC was involved with the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP) looking at why girls are experiencing earlier puberty (a breast cancer risk factor.) At the November BCERP Annual Meeting in Southern California, we networked with the new grantees and learned about the work of a consortium focusing on even better ways of translating research into useful and effective actions. ZBC is planning on joining this group in 2018 to better serve you.

Also at the BCERP Annual Meeting was our very own Dipsea Hike team leader & participant Polly Marshall of Breast Cancer Over Time. Polly spoke very passionately about preventing breast cancer in our daughters and the value of community participatory research into personal care products and their impact on healthy human breast cells. Finally you would have been so inspired, as were we, by some amazing students and post-docs working with youth; we are excited to collaborate with them on our teen programs.

From the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences’ Sister Study, we learned that wood or natural gas burning indoors (for cooking and heating) was associated with a moderate increase in breast cancer risk. The study also found a link between vitamin D supplementation and lower risk for post-menopausal breast cancer and more evidence that physical activity in girls 5-19 years old decreases risk of breast cancer later in life. Another study found an association between an inflammatory diet during puberty and premenopausal breast cancer risk.

At the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation hosts an excellent set of programs for patient advocates, complementing the clinical and basic biology sessions. The 2017 efforts to increase patient engagement were evident, particularly from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA.) Genetic risks were a hot topic, including the relevance of family history and BRCA mutation location (Kuchenbaecker, JAMA 2017) and how risk can change as genes are turned on or off over time and across generations (epigenetics.)

Other SABCS sessions addressed why African-American women have worse outcomes of breast cancer, including mortality. Dr. Katherine Reeder-Hayes reported that biology accounts for about 60% of the difference, leaving an unacceptable 40% attributable to lack of adequate health services. Her research to improve the health care and treatment is vital. ZBC believes that with individual and community-level interventions, it should be possible to reduce the biological part of that difference as well.

Dr. Amelie Ramirez presented data and introduced “A Patient Navigation Manual for Latino Audiences: The Redes En Acción Experience” at the SABCS. Our collaborative Breast Cancer Survivorship Navigation Project (with our excellent partners from clinical and social service organizations across the San Francisco Bay Area) is looking at that peer model as we explore ways to improve the transition out of breast cancer care for under-served women.

Perhaps most of all this year, I’ve learned that we have much work left to do and that I am thankful to be in this field with so many wonderful, passionate people.

My very best wishes for 2018,

Catherine Thomsen

Program Director

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT : ON A VERY SPECIAL PERSON!

Connie Goldsmith, Zero Breast Cancer Board Member since 2005, ZBC President 2016 & 2017, hands-on volunteer and generous donor.

Connie has been a Marin County resident for over 30 years. She has served on the Board of Directors for Marin Horizon School and worked with Marin Academy for almost 15 years. She brought her experience working with boards and the local community to Zero Breast Cancer's Board of Directors and has given back to the local community through her work with Zero Breast Cancer.

Connie has seen so much change over her 13+ years with this organization; from a name change to re-branding changes, from leadership transitions to office moves, from strategic reviews to nurturing and sustaining her favorite ZBC event of all - the annual Dipsea Hike for Zero Breast Cancer. In November 2017 the staff and board presented Connie with a beautiful handcrafted glass bowl as a permanent memento of ZBC. The inscription on the display stand reads “Presented to Constance Goldsmith by Zero Breast Cancer on November 21st , 2017 in recognition of and appreciation for your service and dedication to the vision of a world with zero breast cancer 2005 – 2017”

ZBC Salutes You!

Connie is second from the left in the picture below next to her daughter Ashley, far left, (who gets full credit for introducing her Mom to ZBC after taking summer job at ZBC). Alongside Connie on her right are dear friends and Dipsea Hike team mates Katie and Johanna Southern.

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Newsletters

December 2017 Newsletter