U.S. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited various locations Thursday during her trip to the Madison area, including a listening session with U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin at the Black Women’s Wellness Foundation on Madison’s West Side. It was A panel discussion with many local health leaders from Madison and Milwaukee emphasized the importance of early detection and improving access to cancer screening.
“We all know the statistics: Neighborhoods of color, low-income areas, and rural areas with difficult access to care often lack access to lifesaving tests and treatments; is higher, and people are more at risk,” Biden said. He said. “Joe’s budget is invested in programs to improve access to this type of care. So no matter where you live, everyone has the opportunity to get tested when they need it. And doctors, We all have a role to play: researchers, patients and their families, governments, nonprofits, and businesses.”
Hosted by Black Women’s Wellness Foundation CEO Lisa Peyton-Care and Mayor Madison Satya Rose-Conway The conversation covered many topics surrounding Wisconsin’s health care system, cancer advocacy for low-income and no-income individuals, and personal testimonies that bring communities together. Senator Baldwin also made a special announcement about plans to restart the national breast and cervical cancer early detection program. This program has the tremendous support of many community partners here in Madison and nationally under the Biden Administration’s Cancer Moonshot Plan.
Dr. Biden’s Her cancer education and prevention advocacy began in 1993 when four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer. Following that year, she launched the Biden Breast Health Initiative to educate high school girls in Delaware about the importance of cancer prevention. In 2015, after Dr. Biden and then-Vice President Joe Biden lost their son Beau to brain cancer, the White House Cancer Moonshot launched a national effort to end cancer as we know it. contributed to the promotion of the initiative. After the Obama-Biden administration, then-Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden continued cancer research through the Biden Cancer Initiative.
In February 2022, President Biden and Dr. Biden have reignited the cancer moonshot and set a new national goal: If we work together, we will reduce cancer mortality by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years, helping people and their Living with cancer and surviving cancer can improve your family’s experience. As President Biden is doing, Speaking at the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, he said: “Cancer doesn’t differentiate between red and blue. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat. Beating cancer is something we can do together.”
Biden’s Cancer Moonshot is an effort to strengthen research, education, and cancer advocacy efforts in the nation’s health care system. With the mission ofAccelerates the rate of progression against cancer. ” Dr. Biden further spoke about the mission of this White House project, saying, “We will invest in innovative research and help patients and their families navigate this journey.”
Since the inauguration of the Biden administration, the first lady has participated in cancer moonshot efforts spanning nearly a dozen states and two countries. Earlier this year, the first lady visited the Louisiana Cancer Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and his spouse, Dr. Laura Cassidy, to highlight the importance of colorectal cancer screening and investing in cancer research. emphasized.
(Photo provided by Janay Thompson)
Panel members at Thursday’s event at the Black Women’s Wellness Foundation represented many of the key issues in Wisconsin’s Black and Latino/a populations. Participants included Gail Johnson, director of the Wisconsin Well Women Program; In addition to helping women with little or no health insurance get tested for breast and cervical cancer, Gaulien “Ge” is the owner of G’s Clippers barbershop in Milwaukee. – Smith is working on early detection of cancer and other health-related problems by opening a clinic in Milwaukee. his barber shop.
Dr. Patricia Tellez Giron, a family physician at Access Community Health Center, spoke first-hand about the importance of an equitable health care system that addresses the needs of the entire community. “COVID-19 should teach us that everything that happens to one population happens to everyone, so if we have a cancer patient in our community, it affects everyone. It’s going to have an impact,” she said.
Carol Johnson, Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), calls for community organization sponsorship and partnership to address health care disparities in low- to no-income communities and communities of color. brought up sexuality. The panel also featured special guest Kristin Russell, a cancer survivor and director of health and wellness programs at the Black Women’s Wellness Foundation, who spoke first-hand about her experience navigating the Wisconsin health care system and her battle with cancer. Told.
Dr. Biden emphasized the importance of this project being a personal reflection of her cancer experience. She also emphasized the importance of having community partners and building community coalitions to advocate for an equitable health system and navigate those areas.
“For me too, [President] Joe, this really is our life’s mission… We’re not going to give up and we’re going to keep trying, and I know that you all here feel exactly the same way, because cancer is what I It affects all of us,” Biden said.
