The conference was attended by over 500 people, a capacity crowd in the auditorium of Rockland Community College Cultural Arts Center on the evening of October 2, 1996. Buffet supper preceded the event, in the Atrium, paid for by the registration fee (five dollars) and conference financial support. During the dinner hour, attendees were asked to sign petitions focusing on two breast cancer issues (see Advocacy Initiatives).

After dinner, Legislator Harriet Cornell introduced the conference and the speakers. The two keynote speakers, Dr Stephen Edge and Dr. Carolyn Runowicz made their presentations (see Conference Presentation Summaries). A question and answer period followed in which audience members wrote questions on index cards, which were collected by conference volunteers. Ms.Vencine Kelly, BA, CTR, Cancer Program Coordinator, Good Samaritan Hospital directed the questions to specific panel members for discussion.

The response to the speakers was overwhelming. Over 200 question cards were turned in and categorized into several areas, which Ms. Kelly directed to the most appropriate member of the panel. The most commonly asked questions related to the use of tamoxifen and other hormonal therapies, hormone replacement therapy, genetic risks with a focus on specific family situations, environmental and other breast cancer risks, and mammography, including concerns about common procedures for reporting mammography results to women. The nature of the questions suggested that the audience included many breast cancer survivors, as well as sisters, mothers, and daughters of breast cancer survivors or victims.

At the end of the evening, conference attendees were asked to complete conference evaluation surveys (see Conference Evaluation) and had the opportunity to speak directly with Drs. Edge and Runowicz, as well as the panel members. In addition, Dr. Runowicz signed copies of her book To Be Alive for attendees who wished to purchase them.

[Return to Home Page]

Return to Breast Cancer Conference Index

First Created: September 18,1997
Last Updated: September 18,1997