DALLAS, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Nominations are being accepted through March 1, 2006 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s Professor of Survivorship awards, an honor that recognizes extraordinary achievement in research and clinical work specifically related to breast cancer survivorship.
The award, which was established by the Komen Foundation in 1999, is granted each year to two individuals who have distinguished themselves in research specific to long-term breast cancer survivor issues or in work with survivors that takes place in a clinical setting. Awardees are appointed Komen Professors of Survivorship for a one-year period, and each awardee receives a $20,000 honorarium to advance their work.
The Komen Foundation established the Professor of Survivorship awards in direct response to the growing numbers of breast cancer survivors and to enhance understanding of psychosocial and physical health issues related to survivorship. A specially appointed committee of peers and breast cancer survivors selects Professor of Survivorship awardees.
The most commonly reported breast cancer survivor issues include anxiety about disease recurrence, reproductive issues, cognitive challenges, issues related to self-esteem and sexuality, and issues surrounding employability and insurability.
Previous Komen Professor of Survivorship awardees have been recognized for efforts ranging from authoring popular books on survivorship issues to the establishment of Web sites and other informational resources for survivors and their families. The award also has helped to advance academic research on the impact of treatment and psychosocial distress experienced after treatment completion; quality of life issues in minority communities; the impact of cognitive disorders sometimes associated with treatment; treatment side effects such as weight gain; and the potential benefits for survivors in making dietary adjustments and following specially designed exercise programs.
Breast cancer is the leading cancer site among American women and is second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths. The five-year relative survival rate for women with localized breast cancer, cancer that has not spread to lymph nodes or other locations outside the breast, has increased from 72 percent in the 1940s to more than 95 percent in 2005.
For detailed information about the Komen Foundation’s Professor of Survivorship award, call Chandini Portteus at (972) 855-4393 or cportteus@komen.org . To read about specific application criteria and to obtain a downloadable nomination form, visit http://www.komen.org/grants .
About the Komen Foundation
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Today, the Foundation is an international organization with a network of more than 75,000 volunteers working through local Affiliates and events like the Komen Race for the Cure(R) to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. A global leader in the fight against breast cancer, the Foundation fulfills its mission through support of innovative breast cancer research grants, meritorious awards and educational, scientific and community outreach programs around the world. Through fiscal year 2005, the Komen Foundation, together with its Affiliate Network, corporate partners and generous donors, has invested $630 million in breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs.
For more information about breast health or breast cancer, visit the Foundation’s Web site at http://www.komen.org or call the Foundation’s National Toll Free Breast Care Helpline at 1.800 I’M AWARE(R) (1.800.462.9273).
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
CONTACT: Jean Maza, +1-972-701-2105, or jmaza@komen.org , or Jill CoodySmits, +1-972-855-1682, or jsmits@komen.org , both of Susan G. Komen BreastCancer Foundation