The First Lady, Raquel Arbaje, and the Agency of Public-Private Partnerships (DGAPP), commemorated the International Day Against Breast Cancer with the conference “To Prevent is to live”, an activity led by Dr. Jane E. Mendez, chief of surgery at the Cancer Institute hospital at Baptist Health South Florida, Miami.
The activity was led by the Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, and began with the words of the First Lady and the executive director of the Agency of Public-Private Partnerships, Sigmund Freund, and was attended by officials, leaders of the business sector and representatives of official institutions.
The First Lady stated that in Latin America this disease is the second leading cause of cancer death among women because of the 462 thousand new cases detected each year, about 100,000 end in death, therefore early detection is of extreme importance.
“As a Dominican, it pains me that it is precisely our country that leads these fateful statistics, as stated in the Breast Cancer report in America, published in 2019 by the World Health Organization and Pan-American Health Organization”, Raquel Arbaje said.
On his end, the executive director of the DGAPP, Sigmund Freund, reaffirmed the entity´s commitment to this initiative that seeks to save lives and, in turn, expressed his support in the task of raising awareness about this disease that affects so many women.
“Today we have gathered a large number of the ladies who represent the public and private sectors in one voice, to form a great alliance and work together in the prevention of this disease, which affects one in eight women in the world”, the director specified.
It should be noted that the First Lady is implementing in the country the annual campaign sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) to Raise Breast Cancer Awareness.
About the speaker
Dr. Jane E. Mendez is an onco-surgeon certified by the Board of Medical Specialties; she is head of breast surgery at the Miami Cancer Institute, expert in the treatment of breast cancer and all surgical breast operations.
She completed her medical studies at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, completed a residency in surgery at Mt. Sinai Hospital, in New York City, followed by a subspecialty in breast surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, also in the aforementioned city.
She has served as president of the Boston Medical Center Medical and Dental Staff, a member of the governing council of the Massachusetts-based Susan G. Komen, an honorary member of the American Association of Surgeons, an active member of numerous professional associations, including the American Society of Surgeons of the Breast and Onco-surgery Society.
