Women’s Empowerment Conference set Oct. 8
The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, in conjunction with the Women of Wellness LLC, announce the Total Woman's Conference: Empowering the Wise and Well Woman will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at Delaware Technical Community College Owens Campus in Georgetown. This free, educational conference will offer women an overview on what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle with an emphasis on breast health, nutrition, exercise, financial fitness and stress management. The program will include informative workshops, lunch and free health screenings for participants.
The conference is one component of the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition's Wise and Well program. Nationally, African-Americans have higher cancer mortality rates than any other race. The coalition's outreach efforts are focused on breaking down racial disparities in screening and mortality to improve these statistics. In the last year, approximately 47 African-American women who were newly diagnosed or experiencing a recurrence of breast cancer received support services from the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition. The Delaware Cancer Consortium's July 2016 report indicates that mortality rates among African-Americans have dropped nearly 22 percent over the last decade.
"To continue to break down barriers to treatment, care and information, the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition is committed to running programs that meet the needs of the populations we serve," said Migdalia Garduno, a bilingual outreach and screening coordinator for the coalition. "Women who might be at risk for breast cancer can learn ways to decrease their risk at the conference and also walk away with some tips to live a healthier lifestyle."
Research suggests that having a condition like diabetes, in addition to breast cancer, increases the risk of dying from the disease. Black women have a higher incidence of diabetes and other comorbidities such as hypertension that reduce survivorship. Adopting healthy lifestyle choices like exercise, balanced eating and stress management can substantially decrease a woman's chance of developing comorbidities and reduce a woman's chance of developing breast cancer.
"Women of Wellness LLC is excited to again partner with the DBCC to empower women of color to take ownership of their health in a holistic way through this component of the Wise and Well program," said Kanani Hines of Women of Wellness.
The Total Woman's Conference is free for attendees due to generous support from Highmark Delaware, Discover and the Fund for Women. Space is limited, and registration is required to attend the free workshop. For more information, go to www.bit.ly/wiseandwell, call 302-778-1102 or go to www.debreastcancer.org.
