“Shelley brings to NCCS years of experience in public policy and medical affairs, knowledge of cancer policy issues, and strong relationships with cancer support and advocacy organizations. NCCS and the cancer survivors we serve are fortunate to have the benefit of Shelley’s skills, experience, and knowledge,” said NCCS Executive Director Nina Wendling. “Our Board and staff welcome Shelley back to the cancer community where we will benefit not only from her health policy expertise, but from her collaborative disposition to work with NCCS Board and staff who are dedicated to assuring quality cancer care for all.”

As Senior Director of Public Policy, Ms. Fuld Nasso will lead NCCS activities, including:

•  Advocating in Congress and federal agencies for reform of Medicare and other health care systems to ensure cancer care planning and coordination and the empowerment of patients as health care decision-makers;
• Representing cancer survivors in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act to guarantee that insurance coverage meets the lifelong needs of cancer survivors and to encourage health system reforms that promote and protect quality, affordable care;
• Convening survivors, physicians, researchers and others to investigate solutions to problems related to cancer drug development, access to quality care, and the development of a sustainable system of cancer care;
• Articulating the concerns and interests of cancer survivors in policy efforts that relate to cancer care delivery and access, including involvement in regulatory and legislative proposals and initiatives.

In accepting this position for NCCS, Ms. Fuld Nasso expressed both her personal and professional interest in working in the area of cancer quality improvement. “Cancer has touched me on a personal level, as I lost my closest friend, Dr. Brent Whitworth, to renal cell carcinoma last year. I witnessed and supported him in his experience with clinical trials, treatment decision-making, palliative care, and ultimately end-of-life care. I am passionate about advocating for quality cancer care and representing the interests of cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers in public policy debates,” said Ms. Fuld Nasso

Ms. Fuld Nasso is a graduate of Rice University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Orenstein concludes her lengthy story about breast cancer treatment and research with these strong comments:

“The idea that there could be one solution to breast cancer — screening, early detection, some universal cure — is certainly appealing. All of us — those who fear the disease, those who live with it, our friends and families, the corporations who swathe themselves in pink — wish it were true. Wearing a bracelet, sporting a ribbon, running a race or buying a pink blender expresses our hopes, and that feels good, even virtuous. But making a difference is more complicated than that.

“It has been four decades since the former first lady Betty Ford went public with her breast-cancer diagnosis, shattering the stigma of the disease. It has been three decades since the founding of Komen. Two decades since the introduction of the pink ribbon. Yet all that well-meaning awareness has ultimately made women less conscious of the facts: obscuring the limits of screening, conflating risk with disease, compromising our decisions about health care, celebrating “cancer survivors” who may have never required treating. And ultimately, it has come at the expense of those whose lives are most at risk.”

Read the Article >>

Read the comments >>