Information For
- Attendees
- Exhibitors
- Nurses
- Speakers
- 10th Anniversary Lunch
- Metastatic Retreat Attendees
Welcome
- Welcome
Share Your Story
- Share Your Story
Links
- Vermont Cancer Center
- University of Vermont
- Fletcher Allen Health Care
- VT/NH Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Contact Us
If you have questions, please call us at 802-656-5665.
Accessibility for People with Disabilities
While the Breast Cancer Conference is accessible to people with disabilities, please note that there are significant distances between some of the sessions at the event. We regret that we are unable to provide assistants to help individuals travel throughout the premises. You are welcome, however, to have someone of your choosing accompany you in this capacity to the conference and ask only that your assistant register for the event as well.
Conference Disclaimer
Regarding written materials and information received, written or otherwise, during the Vermont Cancer Center Breast Cancer Conference and regarding information that may be displayed or distributed from conference exhibitors: The scientific views, statements and recommendations expressed during this program represent those of the speakers and exhibitors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Vermont Cancer Center, the University of Vermont or Fletcher Allen Health Care.
Welcome
We are very pleased to welcome you to the 10th Annual Breast Cancer Conference. The Conference was initially started to provide basic breast cancer education for the general public. As it has grown significantly throughout the past decade, we have expanded its educational goals, which are now intended to be as inclusive as possible, to reach the broadest audience, and to provide quality information that can help shape decision-making about breast health issues from both a public and provider perspective.
Living in a rural state, Vermont women often face barriers to accessing the knowledge, as well as the ability, to take advantage of the newest diagnostics, screening recommendations and treatments. With the continual advances in the fight against breast cancer, from prevention and treatment to recognition of survivorship issues, there is a great need for a free and comprehensive educational event that serves a large and diverse audience.
The Conference brings together health care providers, health care consumers, patients with breast cancer and their families for one day to educate them about the complex issues related to breast cancer and inspire them to maintain a healthy lifestyle and be a voice for breast cancer. Our goal is to ensure that every attendee at the Conference is able to find the information, expertise and support they seek.
As we celebrate our tenth anniversary, we hope we have developed an event that serves as a current and comprehensive resource on breast health for our community.
Finally, we wish to mark the passing of our friend Elizabeth Jeffords, whose longfought ovarian cancer took her life this winter. As the keynote speaker at the 2006 Breast Cancer Conference, she emboldened the crowd with her spirit. Her energy and her unique access to our state and federal leaders gave her the ability to make a significant impact for women with cancer in Vermont and around the country. She will be dearly missed.
—Patti O'Brien, MD and Hyman Muss, MD
Conference Co-Chairs
About the Conference
This unique educational event (to take place on Saturday, November 3, 2007) will meet the broad needs of survivors, caregivers, health care professionals, and the general public concerned about complex issues related to breast health and women's health, and provide opportunities to network with other survivors, caregivers, nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, and cancer researchers.
Quick Facts
- The conference opens at 8:00 am with over 60 exhibits in the Exhibit Hall
- Sessions begin at 9:00 am and end at 4:15 PM
- The sessions and exhibits are free due to the generous support of The Vermont-New Hampshire Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Breast Cancer Facts
- Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among women.
- In Vermont, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women. Each year, in Vermont, approximately 482 breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women.
- While an estimated 40,460 women and 450 men will die from breast cancer in 2007, death rates from breast cancer have steadily declined over the past decade.
- Nearly 90% of women diagnosed with breast cancer will survive their disease at least 5 years.
- A woman's chance of developing breast cancer increases with age. In the United States, a woman has about a 13.2 percent, or 1 in 8, lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
- Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among Vermont women. Each year in Vermont, approximately 96 women die from breast cancer.
- From 2000-2004, the median age at diagnosis for cancer of the breast was 61 years of age.
- Breast cancer incidence rates for women in Addison and Chittenden Counties are significantly higher than the U.S.
- Your best chance for surviving breast cancer is detecting it early. When found early, there is a 96% chance for cure.
- 95% of new cases and 98% of breast cancer deaths reported during 1996-2002 occurred in women ages 40 and older.
- Women in their 40s and older should have mammograms every 1 to 2 years. Women who are younger than 40 and have risk factors for breast cancer should ask their health care provider whether to have mammograms and how often to have them.
- For the first time in 20 years, there is a significant decline in the number of U.S. women over the age of 40 who get a regular mammogram to screen for breast cancer. According to a study by the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the overall rate at which women are having mammograms fell four percent between 2000 and 2005.
- Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) followed by local radiation therapy has replaced mastectomy as the preferred surgical approach for treating women with early stage breast cancer.
- In Vermont, 65% of breast cancers are diagnosed at the localized (early) stage.
- Approximately 5 to 10% of breast cancers are due to heredity. The majority of women with breast cancer have no known significant family history or other known risk factors.