Up Close and Personal 2
INFORM - CONNECT - ADVOCATE

1st National Breast Cancer Conference for
Australian Young Women Affected by Breast Cancer

October 13 – 14, 2007
Jasper Hotel / 489 Elizabeth Street / Melbourne
www.jasperhotel.com.au

What Delegates Had to Say About the Conference:
"All speakers came across as very warm, personable & approachable"
"The conference was uplifting & fantastic"
"Great making connections with Young Women from all over Australia"
"Very well organised. Congratulations to the YABC team on an informative & inspiring 2 days. I'm glad I came & have learnt a lot"
"Thank you for putting in the time for organising this conference
for the benefit of so many young women"
"YABC Divas - The dating game - Entertaining, fantastic! 
Encore please! Tears came from laughing"
"Great fun, great food, great bum on Salsa teacher"

The 1 st National Conference for young women with breast cancer – Up Close and Personal took place in Melbourne October this year. This was the first time that young women from around Australia had the opportunity to come together to a Conference designed specifically around the issues affecting them. This was a Conference organised by young women for young women.

Up Close and Personal 2 was made possible by the determined commitment, passion and energy of Young Action on Breast Cancer (YABC) organising committee: A small group of young volunteers, who through their vision inspired others to join them in making this event possible.

The Conference aims were to inform; connect; and advocate. These aims were successfully delivered through the wide range of quality speakers who presented during the plenary and workshop sessions; the performances that brought to life issues that touch young women; the amazing hypothetical session that included a panel of experts who so generously shared their knowledge on topics relevant to young women; the amazing energy of the women who attended; the evening celebration that allowed women to have a good time in the company of their peers; and finally the discourse and breadth of ideas shared in the final summation.

Recommendations that were put forward during this session included:

• Better communication and awareness from GPs in diagnosing younger women is needed. Women should not be dismissed when presenting with symptoms simply because of their younger age.
• Although information dissemination has improved there still appears to be discrepancy in information that is provided to young woman. It was recommended that all young women (pre-menopausal) should be informed about fertility options before treatment.
• Financial guidelines and assistance:
• Free mammograms and ultra sounds
• Better financial support
• Improving resources:
• Links to specialists
• Information for women with children
• Accessing support groups
• Support groups for partners; carers
• Breast Care Nurses for all women
• Advanced Young Women’s Group
• Peer support program that helps connect women
• Develop medical databases
• Linking YABC nationally
• Rotating the Conference around Australia to improve accessibility for other young women
• Increasing awareness around young women’s issues

Transcripts, presentations and photos from the Conference will be made available on www.yabc2007conference.org late November.

YABC thank the women who attended and helped make this such a wonderful and vital event and to our amazing speakers. Thank you to our major sponsors: BCNA; Think Pink Foundation; NAB; and Edgar Trust Foundation.

Mary Macheras-Magias
YABC Chairperson

DONATIONS
Donations are greatly appreciated and assist YABC with planning the Conference.

Direct Banking Details:

This website is sponsored by
Amazon Heart - Adventures for Breast Cancer Survivors.