By Larry Nichols
PGN Staff Writer
© 2007 Philadelphia Gay News

This month, a national breast cancer advocacy group announced the formation of an advisory council for sexual minorities.

On July 10, Susan G. Komen for the Cure unveiled the formation of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons National Advisory Council.

The nonprofit group formed in 1982 with the purpose of starting a global breast cancer awareness movement. Now, it is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists seeking to save lives through education and funding research, with nearly $1 billion raised to find a cure.

The newly formed LGBT Advisory Council joins five other Komen national advisory groups — African American, Hispanic Latina, Asian American Pacific Islander, American Indian and Young Women’s —developed to help the organization address gaps in breast health and breast cancer education, treatment and screening within these specific population groups.

“All of our advisory counsels are established to help us better reach that priority population for us and reduce morbidity and mortality in that group,” said Susan Carter, a senior spokesperson for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “[In the GLBT community], you’ve got a lot of women that have not borne children, have not breastfed and who don’t seek regular healthcare providers. The morbidity rate is considerably higher in that community and it’s a community that is very important to us to make absolutely sure that women don’t die of this disease.”

Nurit Shein, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Mazzoni Center and member of the new Komen LGBT National Advisory Council, is enthusiastic about Komen reaching out to the sexual-minority community.

“The fact that they have initiated this and have put this together is very worthy of news and commending [because] somebody is interested in the lesbian community,” she said. “What it really is, is a sign of Komen truly wanting to participate with the various factions of the communities and reaching out to the lesbian community. This is very innovative and they have put a lot of energy and resources into it.”

The LGBT Advisory Council members were nominated and chosen from all over the country and from many professional backgrounds, which gives the group the kind of diversity that Komen is looking for, Carter said.

Other members of the LGBT council include Mary Anne Adams, senior research associate at Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, Ga.; Kathleen DeBold, interim executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network; Philip Deitch, financial advisor at Ameriprise; Darlene DeManincor, professor at JFK University; Ann Fonfa, founder and president of the Annie Appleseed Project; Michelle Malkin, executive director of Verbena; Rosalba Messina, president of Messina Consulting Group; and Anita Radix, associate medical director of Callen Lorde Community Health Center.

“We want to have lots of different perspectives around the table,” Carter said. “We don’t necessarily always want people that are familiar with breast cancer issues. It might be you have someone who is just really tied in to the healthcare industry of that population or you might have somebody that’s really into outreach or somebody who does a breast health program. They need to definitely have a passion and a commitment to the cause, but do they need to have an expertise in it? Not really. Would they be somebody that could advise us on some of the issues that maybe different segments of our business aren’t aware of? Absolutely. I think that communities don’t hear you unless they’re part of you.”

Shein said the first council meeting will be at the end of August in Washington, D.C.

“They’re bringing us there for a weekend of meetings. What they’re looking for is input from our community to the Komen foundation.”

Carter sees this meeting as an opportunity to increase the momentum inside the ranks of Komen.

“This is going to be a really important meeting because it’s pulling all six of the advisory councils together,” she said. “We’re on our 25th year right now and we’re ready to make a big difference and hopefully put ourselves out of business faster. We’re looking to this group of advisors from the six different priority populations of Komen to really help us set our strategic direction and help us prioritize the ways that we can significantly impact and reduce the mortality rates in their communities.”

Shein hopes the relationship between Komen and the community can be mutually beneficial.

“I want it to be two-fold,” she said of what she hopes the council can accomplish. “One is for us to educate the Susan G. Komen Foundation of the needs of the lesbian community. The other is, through their enormous resources and ability to reach many more, that we can create awareness in the lesbian community to some health issues we face and might not be aware of.”

For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, visit www.komen.org.