Fran Visco

An advocate is someone who pleads another's cause, who defends those in need, who speaks up for those who choose not to. My siblings can tell you that I was born to be an advocate and then, by temperament, training and circumstance, spent my life as one, especially in defense...

I am on a flight right now headed home from the second annual meeting of NBCC's Artemis Project® to develop a breast cancer preventive vaccine. I find myself extremely excited about the spirit of collaboration and innovation among the participants. I am impressed with the eagerness of all in attendance...

I could not resist using the fact that this is a Leap Year to talk about the need for more than incremental progress in breast cancer. If you will forgive me, a "leap" forward.

But first, I want to remind you that in a Leap Year we get an...

There is nothing like a presidential campaign to convey a sense of urgency. There is the need to fix the economy; to show Americans how their lives can be better; to demonstrate leadership. We need the presidential candidates to step up on another urgent issue: Ending breast cancer. We all...

As a breast cancer survivor and the President of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, I watch coverage of breast cancer with more personal interest than I do other news. So last Monday when I opened my email and read my daily news report, I was stunned to see there were...

In the past few days, I have been inundated with questions about what I think of the recent headlines about breast cancer. I really don't want to weigh in on that debate. What's more important to me is that this week alone, globally, nearly 8,500[1] women have died...

The irony of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is that by the end of the month there was significantly more misunderstanding in the public about the disease. It would come as no surprise that women who listened to or read "news" reports throughout the month would believe they have a much...

Let me tell you the truth about breast cancer: Every 14 minutes, someone dies from this disease in this country alone.

You would probably think that, with all the breast cancer activism that happens in the U.S. during October and all of the media attention it receives,...

I am in awe of the many women and men around the world who share a passion and commitment for our mission to end breast cancer. As I write this, I am surrounded by nearly 1,000 of these advocates who have come to Washington D.C. for several days to "Change...

At the end of this month, nearly a thousand women will come to Washington DC to participate in the National Breast Cancer Coalition's 19th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. The theme this year is "Changing the Conversation" as we aim to focus efforts within the breast cancer community on a common...

It's November. Another Breast Cancer Awareness Month has come and gone. But breast cancer hasn't. It's still here. It's still killing more than 1,400 women around the world each day. So what did we do about breast cancer this October? We talked a lot. We talked about the same old...

October. Another breast cancer awareness month with buildings and bridges aglow in pink. One year since the last one. And around the world another 500,000 women dead of breast cancer. Almost 40,000 in this country alone. Actually, this is the 25th breast cancer awareness month. We are being asked to...

For Mother's Day I want an end to breast cancer. No jewelry, sweaters, flowers or chocolates. I want to know mothers can stop worrying about the women in their lives and themselves. I know it won't happen this year. But this year we can at least get Congress to be...

Recently I wrote a piece for this website stressing the importance of political activism in the war on breast cancer and specifically highlighting Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK) role in single-handedly blocking the crucial Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act (BCERA) from reaching the Senate floor. I questioned his...

Breast cancer is a political issue. And women with breast cancer and all who care about the issue have become politically active. Why? Because we do not know how to prevent breast cancer, how to detect it truly early, or how to cure it. And the federal government has a...