For more information, contact:
Michelle Foley
(813) 745-1505
Moffitt and FORCE Sponsor World’s Largest
Conference for the High-Risk Community
Tampa, FL (March 15, 2007) – FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and the University of South Florida announced that the 2nd annual Joining FORCEs conference will be held May 18 and 19 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Tampa. The Joining FORCEs Conference is an international program that offers general sessions and workshops on topics of interest to any individual or family with a BRCA mutation or hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and to health care providers who serve the community. The conference covers a wide range of topics, encompassing all aspects of the hereditary cancer experience.
“This level of collaboration has a
chance to impact our community like no other event,” said Sue Friedman, the
executive director of FORCE. “If we meet our registration goal, our conference
will mark the word’s largest gathering of individuals and families concerned
about hereditary cancer.”
The second annual Joining FORCEs conference will offer even
more depth, breadth and variety of content than the inaugural conference. Thomas
Sellers, Ph.D., Moffitt’s associate center director of cancer prevention and
control, will provide an overview of the current state and future challenges of
hereditary cancer research. Canadian researcher Dr. Steven Narod will present on
external and environmental factors which affect risk. Dr. Elise Kohn, a
researcher at the National Cancer Institute, will be giving an update on PARP
inhibitors for BRCA-related cancers. Experts will present the latest information
about breast and ovarian cancer detection and risk reduction, and also address
quality-of-life issues for BRCA carriers. Dr. Judy Garber, an associate
professor of medicine at
Workshops include: “Fertility and Adoption Options,”
“Understanding Research, Clinical Trials and Advocacy” and “Discussing Hereditary Risk with Children.” A
special lunch session will feature Brenda Maddox, author of Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA.
The FORCE benefit dinner will be held at the Florida
Aquarium May 18 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tickets are $100 per person, and all
proceeds from the dinner will benefit FORCE.
Cost for registration is $120 until April 1 and $150 after April 1. Genetic counseling continuing education credits will be available for an additional $30. Nursing continuing education credit will be available for an additional $40.
To register for the Joining FORCEs Conference, visit the
conference Web page at: facingourrisk.org/conference.
For more information about the conference, please e-mail: info@facingourrisk.org or call Cindi
Hughlett at (813) 745-1247.
About FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered
FORCE is the only international nonprofit
organization devoted to improving the lives of individuals and families affected
by hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Our mission includes providing
up-to-date information, resources, peer support, and advocacy, raising
awareness, and promoting research specific to hereditary cancer.
About H. Lee Moffitt
Cancer Center & Research Institute
Located in Tampa,
Florida on the University of South Florida campus, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
& Research Institute (www.moffitt.org) is the only Florida-based
cancer center with the NCI designation as a
About the University of South Florida
The University
of South Florida is one of the nation’s top 63 public research
universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching. USF received more than $310 million in research contracts and grants
last year, and it is ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of two of
the nation’s fastest growing universities in terms of federal research and
development expenditures. The university has a $1.6 billion annual budget
and serves 44,038 students on campuses in
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