Article by Vashti Watson, RN

      Three community-based organizations-Barbados Cancer Association USA, Inc., (BACA), Caribbean American Medical & Scientific Association, Inc. (CAMSA), and Barbados Nurses' Association of America Inc. (BNAA)—sponsored a symposium entitled "Breast Cancer Inequities" on September 13, 2014, held at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn. It was an honor for me to serve as the Chair of the Education Committee again this year. We had been asked to meet the needs of the community for education in breast cancer care.
     Our keynote speaker was Kathie-Ann Joseph MD, MPH, the first African-American woman to be appointed to the faculty of the Department of Surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. She also heads Breast Services at Bellevue Medical Center. Dr. Joseph is committed to reducing disparities in cancer care and has a passion for educational outreach to patients and health care professionals. She has made significant contributions to breast cancer research and treatment.
     Dr. Joseph has studied how race affects health and has worked to improve access to health care for those in need. In particular, she is interested in serving the needs of African-American women who face greater breast cancer mortality than do white women. She directs research on the role that a cell surface receptor molecule, RAGE, plays in tumor growth, a subject that shows some promise in new treatments for breast cancer. She assured us that her patients received the same quality of care whether they are at Bellevue or NYU Medical Center.
     The audience was primarily comprised of women of Afro-Caribbean heritage, but quite a few men attended also and asked lots of questions, since they too feel the impact of breast cancer.
    The symposium had many other highlights. All future symposium presentations will be named for former CAMSA president Dr. Deborah Brathwaithe whorecently passed away from breast cancer. Her sister Gail told of academic scholarships in her honor for doctors in residency at Kingsbrook Hospital in Brooklyn where Dr. Brathwaithe was director of Rehabilitation Medicine.
     The patron for the event was the Honorable Dr. Donna Hunte-Cox, consul general of Barbados at New York, who discussed how cancer affects the whole family, especially how partners perceive the changes in body image. She commended the collaborative efforts of the sponsoring organizations to bring such topics to the community.
     The current project of Barbados Cancer Association USA is to build a 20-bed free-standing hospice in Barbados. They screened a video, produced by Jessica Odie-Baril, former consul general of Barbados at New York and former chairperson of BACA. The video presents three families who described what hospice and palliative care  meant to them. They came from all walks of life, from a prime minister's wife to the average citizen. Odie-Baril's work speaks volumes to the organization's commitment to give back to the citizens of Barbados, to offer a home where end-of-life care will be provided with pride and dignity.
     As chair of the Education Committee, I want to thank all those who made this symposium great. Thanks to all the members of the three organizations. Dr. Joseph, who said "yes" from the first phone call, and Dr. Carol Wilson-Smith for making us feel at home at Kingsbrook. I also want to thank Dr. O'Neall Parris for his  leadership and support, and all the other Barbadian community organizations who sent representatives to our event.
     Many staff members of Kings County Hospital Center attended, not only because of the topic and speaker, but to demonstrate their support of the hospital's commitment to community involvement and education:  Dr. Theophilus Lewis, Associate Direct Cancer Care KCHC; Dr. Carol Dixon, Nurse Midwife; Dr. Carol Mendoza Nurse Midwife; Anna Clermont, Health Educator WHS; Karen Lester, Manager of WHS Ambulatory Care
     The following KCHC nurses are members of BNAA: Mary Bell-Downes RN Head Nurse; Noreen Roach RN Gl Ambulatory Care; and Joan Cumberbatch RN ADN.
    For more info on these organizations:  Vashti.watson@nychhc.org or visit barbadoscancerusa.org and
camsa.org.

Vashti Watson, RN
Ambulatory Care, Women's Health

Published in the Kings County Hospital Center's " The Magnet Nexus" Volume 3 Issue 2 - Fall 2014