Dickersin, Kay

The National Breast Cancer Coalition was born as the Breast Cancer Coalition in May 1991, when organizations that belonged to NABCO, and others, were invited to meet in Washington, D.C., if they were interested in forming a political action group centered on issues of breast cancer. Dickersin attended with Marsha Oakley, who with KD had co-founded Arm-in-Arm, a Baltimore-based breast cancer support group At the D.C. meeting, organized by Susan Hester (Mary Helen Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer), Susan Love, Amy Langer (NABCO) and others presented the concept of the Coalition. Attendees were asked who was interested and what each could bring to the effort. KD volunteered her “expertise” as an epidemiologist specializing in clinical trials. Arm-in-Arm served on the Working Board of BCC, then NBCC, until about 2000 or so. Amy Langer served as the first President.

As the only scientist on the Working Board, KD co-chaired the Research Task Force with Susan Love, a nationally known breast surgeon and author. Since one goal was to ask Congress to appropriate more money for breast cancer research, one of the Working Board’s first tasks was to estimate what was being spent at the time and how much more was needed. The National Cancer Institute estimated that approximately $90 million was spent each year. The BCC/NBCC hosted a series of research hearings, to which they invited breast cancer researchers to submit abstracts describing the research they recommended and how much it would cost. The meeting attracted top flight scientists (who paid their own way to the meeting) and led the BCC/NBCC to estimate that $300 million more would be needed in the coming year. When NIH’s Bernadine Healy told the NBCC, “We have enough money for women’s research,” the NBCC turned to the Department of Defense and the Army to be the prospective hosts for the $300 million more campaign (which was successful). The Army, after consulting with the Institute of Medicine to obtain a roadmap, launched its Breast Cancer Research Program, which continues to this day. The DoD program includes consumer advocates in its grants selection process, as a result of successful lobbying by KD and Fran Visco who both served on the Breast Cancer Research Program Integration Panel.

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