I recently attended the Champions Luncheon sponsored by the Institute for Surgical Excellence to support my friend Shelly Light Paolercio, an ovarian cancer survivor. The Institute for Surgical Excellence is a non-profit collaborative organization for emerging surgical technologies. Dr. Martin Martino and Dr. Caitlin Houghton chaired the luncheon held at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Many women surgeons spoke at the event highlighting the need for women’s research not only in breast cancer research but uterine and ovarian cancers. Dr. Ginger Gardner, was a dynamic speaker, advocating for speaking up not only about the breast, but the rest! Dr. Sharona Ross received a Champions award and spoke about the breakthroughs in pancreatic cancer. The physicians also remarked about the importance for empowering women to become surgeons.
(From right to left: Dr. Laila Rashidi, Shelly Light Paolercio, Dr. Sharona Ross and Dr. Caitlin Houghton)
I learned that a miniscule amount of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, is allocated for Women’s Health. According to last month’s article in science.org, “For decades, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has failed to prioritize and fund research on women’s health, says a report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)”. The NIH budget is more than 47 billion, yet some estimates for the women’s health allocation are less than three percent.
If women make up more than 50 percent of the population, why is there this disparity? Women, we need to speak up to Congress to keep us healthy!
Read more: Speak Up for Women
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