National African American Breast Cancer Conference held in Baton Rouge
The National African American Breast Cancer Conference, currently in its 12th year and hosted by Sisters Network Incorporated, was held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to a report from WAFB News.
The Sisters Network Incorporated is the only national breast cancer organization devoted to African Americans, according to the news source.
The Conference featured scientists and elected officials as guest speakers. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee served as Honorary Conference Chair, while Dr. Lisa Newman, the Director of Breast Cancer Care Center at the University of Michigan served as the Conference Chair.
More than 200,000 women are diagnosed each year with breast cancer, according to BreastCancer.com. The disease affects about one out of every eight women in the U.S. at some point in her lifetime. Women over the age of 40 should receive yearly mammograms, according to the American Cancer Society.