Why Attend

The Joining FORCEs Conference is organized for people and families who have been affected by BRCA mutations or hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Whether you are a cancer survivor, previvor, health care provider, someone who is a caretaker, spouse, parent of a high-risk person, this conference has something for you. This international program offers general sessions and workshops on topics of interest to any individual or family with a BRCA mutation or hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and to health care providers who serve this community. The conference covers a wide range of topics designed for all levels of learning and sharing and encompassing all aspects of the hereditary cancer experience.

Who attends the Joining FORCEs Conference?

Attendees of the Joining FORCEs conference include:

• People with a BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 mutation
• People with a strong family history of breast, ovarian, or other cancers
• Women who are at high risk for breast or ovarian cancer
• Breast cancer survivors and ovarian cancer survivors
• Women considering prophylactic mastectomy or oophorectomy to lower their risk for cancer
• Women who have undergone prophylactic mastectomy or oophorectomy
• Women interested in learning about reconstruction options after mastectomy
• Relatives of people with a BRCA mutation or family history of cancer
• Health care providers who care for high-risk individuals or people who carry a BRCA mutation
• Mental health care providers whose practice includes high-risk individuals or people who carry a BRCA mutation
• Patient advocates

Reasons to attend

• Hear updates from leading researchers on BRCA and hereditary cancer
• Learn about standard-of-care and cutting-edge options available for lowering cancer risk or for detecting cancer early
• Learn about all the options available for breast reconstruction after mastectomy and tips on insurance coverage for out-of-state procedures
• Learn strategies for coping with being high-risk and/or a carrier of a BRCA mutation and strategies for sharing risk information with family members
• Learn about ways to improve your quality of life while living with hereditary cancer or hereditary cancer risk
• Learn about clinical trials available for high-risk individuals or cancer survivors with hereditary cancer
• Meet and share experiences with other individuals who have faced hereditary cancer risk
• Learn about advocating and improving lives of people with BRCA or hereditary cancer risk

Sessions and tracks

Our conference sessions are designed to help maximize the networking and education opportunities for all attendees. We offer several general sessions for all attendeesis and six concurrent or breakout sessions where attendees can choose the topic and presentation that is of most interest to them.

We have organized our breakouts into tracks to help you choose the sessions that are most appropriate for your situation. Once you register, you are free to attend whichever session you wish. A few sessions such as Yoga have limited space. Click on the links below to view some suggested tracks based on attendee situation:

• Breast cancer survivors
• Genetic counselors or advanced practice nurses seeking continuing education credits
• Health care providers
• Men with mutations
• Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients
• Ovarian cancer survivors
• Partners, spouses, or caregivers
• Patient advocates, navigators, and support group facilitators
• People who are BRCA negative but still at high risk due to family history
• People who are considering but have not had genetic testing
• People who would like to become more involved as volunteers or advocates
• Survivors, previvors, or high-risk women age 35 or younger
• Women pursuing screening or non-surgical prevention
• Women who are considering mastectomy and/or reconstruction
• Women who are considering prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy
• Women who have competed mastectomy and/or oophorectomy
• Women who have recently learned they have a BRCA mutation or are at high risk

Visit our 2012 sessions page for a complete list and description of each session.

 

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