Read our Conference Report to learn more about the approach, the team, and the lessons learned from planning a conference that centered the needs and priorities of Black women affected by endometrial cancer!
Watch our highlight video!
ECANA’s first national conference took place on March 15 and 16, 2019 in Honolulu Hawaii.
Our steering group was joined by nine new ECANA ambassadors! These individuals were selected to attend the conference because of their dedication to ECANA’s mission and the innovative work they have each done in their communities to raise awareness and improve outcomes for EC among Black women. Each ambassador contributed wisdom, expertise, courage, and spirit to our time together.
We were also joined by leaders in the reproductive justice movement, advocates, researchers, and trainees all with the shared mission of improving Black women's health.
Our conference was held in conjunction with the 50th Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer, with the generous support of - the Society of Gynecologic Oncology
We had so many moments of learning & success! Here are just a few highlights:
+ We built strong, lasting, and healing relationships, and a national network of Black women with endometrial cancer.
+ We received a very warm welcome by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the 50th SGO President, Dr. Carol Brown
+ ECANA women honed their tools for thriving with EC through our survivor-led workshops developed and lead by our steering group advisers.
+ 14 Black EC survivors were trained to implement Community Empowerment Partners for Endometrial Cancer (CEPs-EC), an evidence-based peer education tool developed and evaluated by Cierra Sisters African-American breast cancer survivor and support network.
+ With the guidance of the Sarah Coombs from the National Partnership for Women and Families, we identified shared advocacy priorities. Read Sarah’s blog post about her experience at ECANA 2019.
+ Leaders in reproductive justice – Monica McLemore and Joia Crear-Perry – lead us through building a shared framework to understand reproductive justice and connect it with patient-centered outcomes research and advocacy
+ We forged connections with the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS) and other endometrial cancer researchers through in-depth discussions about research partnerships. Thanks to Dr. Kim Bertrand of BWHS, Dr. Rodney Rocconi, Dr. Victoria Bae-Jump, Dr. Bobbie Rimel, Dr. Leslie Boyd and Dr. Ashley Felix for presenting your work.
We have some exciting next steps in progress:
- A formal report of the ECANA Conference for Community, Education, and Research
- Opportunities to collaborate with ECANA in endometrial cancer research
- Updates from local ECANA peer education sessions in 11 cities (see map).
(Map depicts state of residence of 14 ECANA Ambassadors)
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Thank you to everyone who attended and made this conference possible:
- Society of Gynecologic Oncology
- CERTAIN and the Mary Scott Memorial Fund
- Our many generous individual donors!
Please contact us with any questions about the ECANA 2019 National Conference or other inquiries.