DCI oncologists blaze the trail
Last month, three Duke Cancer Institute faculty in the Department of OB-GYN, Division of Gynecologic Oncology — Brittany Davidson, MD; Haley Moss, MD, MBA; and Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD, MSc — and a DCI faculty member in the Department of Medicine, Division of Population Health Sciences (Arif Kamal, MD, MBA, MHS) participated in national-level events under the auspices of the White House Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
First launched in 2016 by the Obama administration and led by then-Vice President Joe Biden to “accelerate scientific discovery in cancer, foster greater collaboration, and improve the sharing of cancer data,” the Cancer Moonshot was reignited in February 2022 by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, Ed.D. The new goals are to “reduce the cancer death rate by half within 25 years and to improve the lives of people with cancer and cancer survivors.” (The Cancer Moonshot was not active during the Trump administration.)
In October, the focus was on breast and gynecologic cancers.
Below are highlights — the full article is posted on the DCI website.
White House Launches American Cancer Society National Roundtables on Cervical Cancer & Breast Cancer
On October 24, Arif Kamal, MD, MBA, MHS, the American Cancer Society's first-ever chief patient officer, and Brittany Davidson, MD, joined the White House launch of American Cancer Society national roundtables on cervical cancer and breast cancer — multi-sector partnerships to tackle the most complex problems across the cancer continuum.
Helmed by First Lady Jill Biden Ed.D, American Cancer Society, CEO Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, and with special guest Mary J. Blige, the event was held in the White House State Dining Room with President Abraham Lincoln looking on. Read more.
Aiming for the Moon(shot): A VA Cancer Cabinet Community Conversation on Breast and Gynecologic Cancers Convenes
On October 13, Haley Moss, MD, MBA, who's not only a DCI gynecologic oncologist, but also leads the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Breast and Gynecologic Oncology System of Excellence, and Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD, MSc (associate director, Clinical Research, DCI Gynecologic Cancer Disease Group) participated in a virtual White House Cancer Cabinet Community Conversation on Breast and Gynecologic Cancers moderated by Carolyn Clancy, MD, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education, and Affiliate Networks at the Veterans Health Administration.
They joined VA health leaders, three oncology faculty from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and UCLA Health, and Veteran patients and survivors, on the panel, which focused on equitable care and expanded access to screening, testing, treatment, and clinical trials, in breast and gynecologic cancers. Read more.