Up Close And Personal

Young Action on Breast Cancer (YABC) announces the first ever National Conference for Young Women Affected by Breast Cancer in Australia, to be held in Melbourne on October 13 – 14, 2007.

Registration closes Friday 20th September, 2007.

Some info

Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer for women in Australia, with one in eight expected to be diagnosed in their lifetime. 700 women under the age of 40 are diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia each year. Young women face unique challenges and issues related to their life stage.

In 2002, Young Action on Breast Cancer in Victoria staged a highly successful forum for young women in that state, called Up Close and Personal, which attracted over 100 young women.

In 2007, YABC plans to build on this achievement, through the staging of the first ever national forum for young women affected by breast cancer in Melbourne on October 13-14, 2007.

Conference Aims

INFORM – CONNECT – ADVOCATE

Inform

To present younger women affected by breast cancer high quality information with a particular focus on reproductive, menopausal, relationships and sexual issues, and their related psychosocial issues.

Connect

To decrease the social isolation of young survivors and provide links to peer community to support them on their personal journeys.

To empower young women by providing links and information relevant to their life stage.

Advocate

To raise awareness around young women and potentially improve the outcomes for young women with breast cancer.

Conference Objectives

• Provide an opportunity for young women to discuss issues that are important to them and foster a sense of connectedness;
• Provide expert advice on updated management and research information on issues relevant to young women;
• Provide the ‘hands on’ experience from a young woman’s perspective;
• Provide an opportunity for women to share practical tips on what has helped them along the various phases of their journey;
• Provide an opportunity to collaborate with young women attending the Conference to set the future agenda for advocacy, promotion of issues and information dissemination.