The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness was honored to be a part of a powerful moment in history yesterday as the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, and Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, visited the Foundation for Black Women's Wellness.
The Foundation was chosen to host the First Lady’s roundtable to highlight the President's Cancer Moonshot Initiative to fight cancer during her daylong visit to Madison.
Our Founder & CEO Lisa Peyton-Caire greeted the First Lady and her Team as they arrived by Presidential Motorcade to our West Madison headquarters.
We were joined by many community partners and friends for the roundtable including Christine Russell, our Director of Health and Wellness Programs who shared her personal testimony as a Lymphoma survivor and the launching of the FFBWW Cancer Thriver Support Group; Gale Johnson, Director of the Wisconsin Well Woman Program, Dr. Patricia Tellez-Giron representing Access Community Health Centers and the Latino Health Council of Dane County; Gee Smith, founder of Gee's MKE Wellness Clinic which offers health screenings, housing services and more; and Carole Johnson - Administrator of the United States Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA).
Cancer impacts so many lives each year in our nation, and right here in Wisconsin. Each year, there are more than 37,000 new cases of cancer in Wisconsin. Cancer is the leading cause of death in Dane County for all residents, and the 2nd leading cause of death in Wisconsin behind heart disease. And though African Americans are less likely than our peers to be diagnosed with cancer, we are more likely than our peers to die of the disease at higher rates and at younger ages due to lack of healthcare access and low rates of screening and preventative care.
This is why cancer education and support are a critical part of the work the Foundation has does, for the past 11 years, providing education and awareness on prevention, early detection, and screening; assistance to women (and men) in accessing cancer screenings and care; helping women to secure insurance for those who uninsured or underinsured; providing one-on-one healthcare navigation and advocacy in their healthcare journey; and, hosting Support Groups for survivors and their families including our Cancer Thrivers Circle.
To learn more about our efforts to fight cancer and to support survivors, contact programs@ffbww.org.
