Volunteering To Make A Difference
My background is a little different from the others, I am not a breast cancer survivor but rather the daughter of a 5-year breast cancer survivor and also an RN. In 1998, after my mother's diagnosis, mastectomy and chemotherapy, I contacted Christine Carpenter and asked if there was anything I could do in the group to help. In 2000 and 2001 I attended the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) conference in Washington, D.C. NBCC is an advocacy group started in 1991 by Fran Visco and others. The four day conference is made up of seminars and speakers and concludes on the last day with Lobby Day. The conference attendees meet with their state's Senators and Representatives to talk with them and ask them for their vote on the priorities of the NBCC agenda. It was amazing to me the first year I went how receptive most of the Senators and Representatives were to us. But we are also the voters deciding their future in office. There have been some well known faces at the NBCC Conference. In 2000 part of the cast of the West Wing TV show was there and in 2001, Perry Gilpin from Frazier's TV show was there. She lobbied with us as she had lost her mother to cancer. In 2001,
Christine sat on a panel in front of a Senate Panel and told her story and voiced her concerns about breast cancer and the future for her daughter. |
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To me it is amazing how speaking out, even in Washington, DC., you can make your voice heard. I remember being part of Girl's State in high school and wondering if the government worked the way it did in our mock elections, campaigning and lobbying. |
I have found out after two years at Lobby Day in Washington, D.C., that it does work that way and our elected officials do listen. They have respect for the way NBCC is organized and they have respect for the way NBCC advocates present their priorities to their elected officials. Advocacy and lobbying are very important in the fight to eradicate this disease. |
