Womens Network Director's Report
Welcome to the Local 1500 Women's Network web page. My name is Rhonda Nelson and I am the Coordinator for the Department.
I currently serve as the Regional Coordinator for the United Food and Commercial Workers Region One South Women's Network. In addition, I am also the Coordinator for Local 1500's Womens Network at the Local level.
At Local 1500, there is nothing more important than being involved in your Union. That is why I strongly encourage you to get involved in the UFCW Regional Womens Network and Local 1500's Women's Affairs Department.
Through this website,i hope to provide you with important information on subjects important to our female members.
The following is an article that appeared in the December Edition of the Union Newspaper, The Register:
Local 1500 wants to thank everyone who participated in this years Breast Cancer Walk for The Cure that was held on Sunday, October 16th at Jones Beach. It was a great day and together with the members we were able to raise several thousand dollars towards breast cancer research.
As we were participating in this years walk some good news was being released about the fight against breast cancer. The following article from the AP news wire gives you an update on this exciting news:
He's known as Mr. Herceptin but his name is actually Dr. Dennis Slamon and his Los Angeles lab conducted the research that led to the development of the new breast cancer drug. Herceptin, you probably know, is this year's breast cancer story but it's also a glimpse of the future -- one in which breast cancer will be understood, its treatments more successful and less toxic, the disease a chronic one rather than a killer.
The drug, which costs $45,000, is an antibody that blocks the Her-2 neu oncogene in its tracks, preventing it from replicating itself. The way Dr. Slamon explained it, every one of us has the Her-2 gene, but in about 25% of breast cancer patients the gene is "altered" (it goes haywire) and is associated with an aggressive form of the disease: "When you have a Her-2 positive tumor, usually the survival hass up to 36 months once you develop metastatic disease," he said. When treated with Herceptin, a patient's risk of dying from breast cancer is decreased by one-third.
Though only half the women with a Her-2 positive tumor respond to the drug, and though the drug when used in combination with a certain chemo can harm the heart, Herceptin is the first major breakthrough in breast cancer treatment in six decades. It works differently from chemotherapy in that the drug is designed to kill or control cancer cells while doing little damage to the rest of the body.
Dr Slamonr stated though that prevention and screening remains the most important weapon in the fight against breast cancer.
